The Flinders experiment in medical education revisited

Objective: The undergraduate medical curriculum of the Flinders University of South Australia is reviewed and evaluated against American recommendations for the basic education of doctors practising in the 21st century. 

Data sources: Two previous articles in The Medical Journal of Australia describing earlier versions of the Flinders curriculum and the report on General Professional Education for the Physician of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 

Data synthesis: The Flinders curriculum attempts to fully integrate the teaching of medical science and clinical disciplines. The earliest version of the curriculum emphasised horizontal integration of normal structure and function of body systems, followed by abnormalities of these systems, and finally clinical practice. The second version introduced vertical integration of basic science and clinical medicine within a body system. The present version attempts to balance the demands of horizontal and vertical integration. An important feature of all versions is the large proportion of time allowed for elective studies in most years of the course. 

Conclusions: The Flinders curriculum has been able to adapt to the changing needs of medical education because its organisation is relatively free from the constraints of departmental rivalry over resources.