Teaching medical students social responsibility: the right thing to do

This article discusses the responsibility medical schools have to teach medical students to be socially responsible. After defining what is meant by this term, the authors suggest that medical programs should be designed urge students to take part in socially responsible activities. The authors outline a curriculum that that contribute to the happiness, health, and prosperity of a community and its members. They suggest that medical students should participate in carefully designed, socially responsible activities in order to (1) practice and have reinforced such qualities as reliability, trustworthiness, dependability, altruism, and compassion; (2) partially reimburse society for the cost of their medical education; (3) increase their exposure to a population-based approach to health care; and (4) help medical schools fulfill their social contract with the public. The authors outline the process for developing a curriculum to teach social responsibility to medical students and list some of the key questions faculty and administrators must address in the processes of development and implementation.