Role of a medical students' association in improving the curriculum at a faculty of health sciences

The Joyce and Irving Goldman School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev encourages students to take part in the development and evaluation of the teaching experience. These special relations between the school and the students contribute not only to changes in the curriculum but also to increased involvement of faculty and students in the community. This article reviews the special relationship between the Faculty of Health Sciences and its medical students through the Medical Students Association (ASRN). During the last decade, BGU medical students have initiated innovative programmes some of which have recently become integrated into the curriculum. These include: prevention of sexual violence among youth, decreasing white-coat fear in small children ('Teddy Bear hospital' and participation in home-hospice activities. By encouraging students to become equal partners in faculty development and rejecting the traditional paternalistic mode of teacher-student relationships, the faculty has created an improved learning experience, and increased student motivation and levels of communication between the teachers and the future clinicians.