Student feedback is a valuable asset in curriculum evaluation and improvement, but many institutions have faced challenges implementing it in a meaningful way. In this article, we report the rationale, process and impact of the Student Curriculum Review Team (SCRT), a student-led and faculty-supported organization at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. SCRT's evaluation of each pre-clinical course is composed of a comprehensive three-step process: a review of course evaluation data, a Town Hall Meeting and online survey to generate and assess potential solutions, and a thoughtful discussion with course directors. Over the past two years, SCRT has demonstrated the strength of its approach by playing a substantial role in improving medical education, as reported by students and faculty. Furthermore, SCRT's uniquely student-centered, collaborative model has strengthened relationships between students and faculty and is one that could be readily adapted to other medical schools or academic institutions.

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The hemodynamic profile following administration of prazosin suggests that it may be a less effective antagonist of postsynaptic α-adrenoceptors in veins than in arteries. One possible explanation for this would be if there exist more than one postsynaptic α-adrenoceptor subtype and if these subtypes varied in their distribution between arteries and veins. We addressed this question by examining the extent of the antagonism by prazosin of norepinephrine-induced increases in vasomotor tone in several arteries and veins in vitro, including the thoracic aorta of the guinea pig and the portal vein, saphenous artery and vein, and the renal artery and vein of the rabbit. Dose-response curves were constructed following increasing concentrations of prazosin. Based on these dose-response curves, and analysis of the various dose ratios using the Schild plot, we conclude that prazosin displays the characteristics of an equilibrium competitive antagonist at postsynaptic α-adrenoceptors in arteries and veins in vitro, and that prazosin displays little, if any, selectivity for arteries in comparison to veins.