Problem-based learning (PBL), combined with early patient contact, multiprofessional education and emphasis on development of communications skills, has become the basis for the medical curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping (FHS), Sweden, which was started in 1986. Important elements in the curriculum are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science parts of the curriculum and horizontal integration between different subject areas. This article discusses the importance of vertical integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to experiences from the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping, and also give examples on how it has been implemented during the latest 15 years. Results and views put forward in published articles concerning vertical integration within undergraduate medical education are discussed in relation to the experiences in Linköping. Vertical integration between basic sciences and clinical medicine in a PBL setting has been found to stimulate profound rather than superficial learning, and thereby stimulates better understanding of important biomedical principles. Integration probably leads to better retention of knowledge and the ability to apply basic science principles in the appropriate clinical context. Integration throughout the whole curriculum entails a lot of time and work in respect of planning, organization and execution. The teachers have to be deeply involved and enthusiastic and have to cooperate over departmental borders, which may produce positive spin-off effects in teaching and research but also conflicts that have to be resolved. The authors believe vertical integration supports PBL and stimulates deep and lifelong learning.

Important elements in the curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science sections of the curriculum, and horizontal integration between different subject areas. Integration throughout the whole curriculum is time-consuming for both teachers and students and hard work is required for planning, organization and execution. The aim was to assess the importance of vertical and horizontal integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to opinions among students and teachers. In a questionnaire 102 faculty teachers and 106 students were asked about the importance of 14 different components of the undergraduate medical curriculum including vertical and horizontal integration. They were asked to assign between one and six points to each component (6 points = extremely important for the quality of the curriculum; 1 point = unimportant). Students as well as teachers appreciated highly both forms of integration. Students scored horizontal integration slightly but significantly higher than the teachers (median 6 vs 5 points; p=0.009, Mann-Whitney U-test), whereas teachers scored vertical integration higher than students (6 vs 5; p=0.019, Mann-Whitney U-test). Both students and teachers considered horizontal and vertical integration to be highly important components of the undergraduate medical programme. We believe both kinds of integration support problem-based learning and stimulate deep and lifelong learning and suggest that integration should always be considered deeply when a new curriculum is planned for undergraduate medical education.

Modern compliance research is based on actual medication behavior, paying little heed to the patient's ideas, values, or attitudes. This paper describes a research project conducted to determine the patient's view of rational drug therapy-what it means for him/her. It begins to explore the issue of the reasons underlying medication behavior-the reality of the world patients live in.

For the last ten years, the main characteristics of the education for students at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Linko È ping, Sweden, have been problem based learning (PBL) together with programme integration. A few years ago, rotation at the Training ward at the Department of Orthopaedics was made a compulsory element for students in the six programmes. The students practise teamwork in a realistic care environment under professional supervision. An evaluation of the ® rst year at this training ward was carried out partly based on qualitative data from students from all the programmes involved. The qualitative analysis, based on interviews and the critical incident method, focused on the integrated teamwork and how the students make use of everyday activities in order to collaborate and understand each other's competences. Students integrated by applying three different strategies. These strategies were delegation, differentiation and discussion together with a situational focus on the speci® c task, on an individual basis or on sessions with students and tutors. Critical examples of ef® cient situations for training interprofessional work were joint rehabilitation work with just one fellow student, planning for the patient going home and emergency situations. Two different modes of integration were used by the students; the equal work distribution approach and the life-long learning approach. The main differences between the students are described in terms of contrasting forms of experiencing. This part of the evaluation leads to a more profound understanding of the premises of interprofessional, undergraduate training.