PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Al-Borie, Hussein M.
TI  - Medical social sciences. Their potential contributions to medical education reforms in Saudi Arabia
DP  - 2012 Jul 01
TA  - Saudi Medical Journal
PG  - 711--715
VI  - 33
IP  - 7
4099  - http://smj.org.sa/content/33/7/711.short
4100  - http://smj.org.sa/content/33/7/711.full
SO  - Saudi Med J2012 Jul 01; 33
AB  - This article emphasizes a holistic definition of health. It then introduces the concept of Medical social sciences, and drawing from the literature, argues for the inevitability of social sciences in medical education, especially in the health systems of developing countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This is followed by a brief history of medical education in KSA, and an examination of some important social science issues. Finally, this article suggests how a holistic approach involving inputs from the social and behavioral sciences could be incorporated into undergraduate medical education to produce medical professionals who could better meet the community and public health needs of the country.