Foundations that support medical education and health care: their missions, accomplishments, and unique role.

The author provides a detailed overview of the missions, accomplishments, current strategies, and unique institutional role of those U.S. private foundations that have a significant focus on health, especially those that emphasize the support of medical education.

U.S. medical schools' valuing of curriculum time: self-directed learning versus lectures.

Background: As medical schools implement curriculum changes to address the relevancy of medical education to today's health care needs, examining schools' grading systems and their valuing of curriculum hours has become a priority.

Method: In 1991-92 all 126 U.S.