ABSTRACT
In recent years, financial constraints have bitten more and more deeply into medical education and research (R.Smith 1988; Alexander 1988). This has created concern about the fate of the intercalated degree (R.Smith 1986; Harris 1986). Critical comments have been made about the way students are chosen for intercalated degree courses, the research content of the courses, and the reporting of outcomes (R.Smith 1986). For these reasons medical schools have been challenged to justify their claims for funding to continue the intercalated degree programme, and attempts have been made to assess the value of these degrees (Wyllie and Currie 1986; Eaton and Thong 1985; Wakeford et al. 1985; Evered et al. 1987).
