Finnish reform of medical education: Implications for the united states

Abstract

The Finnish medical education system has recently undergone a major reform, in response to a very specific, national legal mandate for change. The new law was passed in response to perceived needs for change in the health care delivery system, and recommendations of the Pan-Scandinavian Nordic Council and the Finnish Ministry of Education pertinent to principles and practice in higher education. The reforms address primarily matters of curriculum. The law is quite specific in prescribing both the structure and content of medical school curriculae. Significant progress has been made in implementing the legislation, passed in 1975.

The United States medical education system faces a series of problems which to a certain extent parallel those observed in Finland. There are problems in the health care delivery system which relate, directly and indirectly, to what goes on in the medical education system. Furthermore, there are intrasystem problems of educational theory and practice which need to be met. Abraham Flexner provided the rationale for direct government intervention in the medical education system, which is what happened in Finland. There is a distinct possibility that this may happen in the United States as well