Relevance of "irrelevant" facts in medical education: the value of basic science teaching for later medical practice.

The relationship between performance measures in medical school and in practice is addressed in this article in terms of the relevance to the physician's practice of the facts learned in medical school. It is argued that despite the fact that “relevance” and “irrelevance” are relative terms, medical education should place emphasis on the “core” curriculum on the assumption that core materials have important applications in practice and therefore are more relevant when investigating relationships between performances in medical school and after graduation. Although some of the “relevant” facts may seem “irrelevant” to medical students, medical school faculty and members of curriculum committees should be committed to include relevant facts in the core curriculum based on their professional hindsight and feedback from practicing physicians.