An elective seminar to teach first-year students the social and medical aspects of aids

First-year students at a midwestern medical school are introduced to a comprehensive approach to the biological, psychological, and social aspects of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). In a seven-week elective seminar (approximately 12 hours in length), the students view a television movie and a documentary film about persons with AIDS and their families and friends, and they participate in roundtable discussions with AIDS patients, volunteers who coordinate support and advocacy for persons with AIDS, and health care professionals involved in the care of AIDS patients. They receive reading materials and lectures on the pathology, epidemiology, and history of AIDS, and they monitor and discuss radio and television reporting on AIDS. In wrap-up sessions and evaluation questionnaires, the students have reported the seminar to be valuable in helping them overcome their fear of the disease, develop empathy for patients with catastrophic diseases, and understand a comprehensive approach to a complex disease.