This issue of INDIANA UNIVERSITY MEDICINE highlights medical and molecular genetics, an area of growing interest to all of us. Fascinating as each new finding is, it also brings with it immense new challenges for us as teachers, clinicians and researchers.

Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, is a good friend of many faculty at this school. When he tells us that within two to three years, we will have physical maps to locate the genes involved in disease and normal human development and that we will know the sequence of all genes and be able to survey DNA databases and analyze genes, I know we must make some important changes now to prepare our students for their future roles and responsibilities.

First, they must become lifelong learners who retain a high level of competence despite rapid changes in science and medicine. Second, they must possess the moral and ethical mettle to make treatment decisions which sustain the credo and guide the values of our profession. And, finally, they must possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to succeed in a time when the practice of medicine will be increasingly influenced by outside politicaland economic forces.

The School is making excellent progress in developing a new curriculum that reflects and responds to these challenges. Nevertheless, we still face several hurdles. Our new curriculum will be interdisciplinary, and this will require some de-departmentalization in order for faculty to teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. The new curriculum will also be competency based, so faculty and course directors must plan and make any needed changes in approach and content to ensure that our students achieve the highest level of competence. We must also continue to develop new ways for our students to learn in outpatient settings where most future patients will receive care.

This is a tall order, but one we intend to fill. As our school competes with other top schools for the best students, researchers and teachers, we must be willing to redefine ourself in the context of this new and continually changing world of medicine.

Indiana University School of Medicine students are always ranked among the best. Many exceed the norm on their national boards and are sought after by some of the top residency programs in the country. We can ensure their ongoing success by understanding their future needs and preparing them to excel...as the physicians we entrust with future generations, the researchers who ask questions as yet unimagined, the teachers of all the bright young students yet to come, and the leaders who will help shape the future through medicine

Robert W. Holden, MD ('63)
Dean, Indiana University School of Medicine