The first year at medical school: some findings and student perceptions.

This paper will first summarize briefly some results from parallel studies of first-year medical students at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and University of Houston, Texas, USA. These findings have been presented more fully elsewhere (Surtees & Miller 1990; Miller & Surtees 1991; Miller & Lloyd 1991; Miller 1994) and here the emphasis will be on the Edinburgh results. Following this, some new material will be set down, reflecting the Edinburgh students' comments to the interviewers about their courses.