Epidemiology: a Guide to Teaching Methods

than problems. Problem orientated medicine includes social and behavioural factors, prevention and after care. Morrison sees great opportunities in the future for the development of this wider approach based on the integration of preventive, family and hospital services and hopes to see clinicians using their knowledge and prestige in promoting the much neglected preventive activity of health education. This is a stimulating and readable book which will be enjoyed by every doctor and senior medical student who is interested in the development of medicine over the next ten years. THIS book "is designed to help teachers of epidemiology; it is not a textbook of epidemiology . .. it represents the experience of teachers of epidemiology from countries with very different health problems. . and it provides. .. with practical examples. .. teaching methods used by them". It is published for the International Epidemiological Association (IEA) which in less than twenty years has progressed from a modest "corresponding club" to an organisation to which many leading epidemiologists throughout the world belong. A global perspective is the watchword of the Association well exemprified by the nationalities (17) of the 26 contributors. The book is in two parts: Part I comprises twelve chapters written anonymously, each dealing with an applied aspect of teaching ("Teaching in the Classroom", '4Teaching in the Hospital", etc.) and since they total less than 70 pages the treatment is clearly brief but unfortunately superficial rather than succinct, e.g. "Evaluation of Performnance", a major contemporary academic "global" problem, is discussed under 7 headings in just over 4 pages, "Short answer questions", which could deserve a separate chapter, being dealt with in 31 lines! It is not clear for what audience Part I is written, but the substance will be of negligible value in "western" medical schools. Part II comprises 8 Annexes-ranging from a modest 12-item "Further Reading on Planning an Educational Programme" to nearly 30 pages of examples of various types of examination questions-most of which are examples of exercises, curricula, or training programmes (under-and postgraduate) from the departments of the 26 contributors. This is the more interesting part of the book, but the value to a teacher or practitioner of epidemiology is limited, and furthermore, one mus,t question whether promulgating teaching methods, curricula etc.-some of them of very modest merit-through an (expensive) hardback book is appropriate. T.he compilers consider this book has some use for medical schools in developing …