ABSTRACT
An elective is described which teaches medical students the psychosocial components of illness. The course is taught by social work tutors who utilize their empathic and enabling skills to provide the students experiential and didactic instruction drawn from interviews with patients. Course content is exemplified by an in-depth description of material taught by a social worker assigned to the gynecology oncology service. A course evaluation is provided as well as the rationale for linking this elective with the medical school philosophy which stresses a biopsychosocial approach to clinical problems. The course structure derives directly from the day to day practice of hospital social work and thus lends itself to replication in a variety of health care settings.
