appropriate setting for medical education

the 3.4 million polulation of isfahan province was evaluated by cluster sampling. in this study, 11230 cases had one or several medical complaints, 9818 had sought treatment in medical centers 146 were hospitalized. only 74 of the latter were admitted to university hospitals. during the month prior to study, 945 cases had been resting at home. the ratio of cases resting at home to those who were hospitalized was 6:1. this study shows that the number and variety of outpatient cases is higher than hospitalized ones, and that university hospitals are not adequate for the training of medical students, and that attending community based outpatient clinics and training centers is essential for a good medical education