Howard Barrows
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Howard S. Barrows (March 28, 1928 – March 25, 2011) was an American physician and medical educator who was Professor Emeritus at the
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is a medical school located in Springfield, the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is part of the Southern Illinois University system, which includes a campus in Edwardsville as well as the ...
where he had previously served as Associate Dean for Educational Affairs and Chair of Medical Education. Trained as a neurologist, Barrows is best known today for his many innovations in medical education, particularly teaching using Problem-Based Learning (PBL), developed while he was a professor at
McMaster University Medical School The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, known as the McMaster University School of Medicine prior to 2004, is the medical school of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is operated by the McMaster Faculty of Health Sciences. ...
, assessing clinical skills using
simulated patient In health care, a simulated patient (SP), also known as a standardized patient, sample patient, or patient instructor, is an individual trained to act as a real patient in order to simulate a set of symptoms or problems. Simulated patients have been ...
s, and studying clinical reasoning using stimulated recall techniques.


Biography

Barrows was born in
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
on March 28, 1928. He attended a community college in
San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...
and went on to complete a BA in Zoology at the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1949. He attended medical school at University of Southern California (USC) College of Medicine and completed his M.D. in 1953. He interned at Lennox Hill Hospital in New York city and subsequently served two years at
Parks Air Force Base A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...
in California as a medical officer. Barrows returned to New York city in 1957 to complete his residency in neurology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Barrows joined the USC faculty in 1960, advancing to the rank of Professor of Neurology. In 1971, he joined the recently founded Faculty of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario. It was at McMaster where he developed the PBL curriculum. A decade later, he was recruited to serve as the Associate Dean for Educational Affairs at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois. At SIU he was instrumental in establishing a PBL track modeled after the Problem-Based Curriculum at McMaster. Under his direction, SIU became a center for the development of PBL teaching materials and faculty training. He played an instrumental role in creating the journal ''Teaching and Learning in Medicine'' and served as an associate editor for many years. He also established the Problem-Based Learning Institute in conjunction with the local public school district to promote the use of PBL in secondary education. After his retirement in 1999, Barrows and his wife Phyllis returned to Hamilton, Ontario. Over his long and productive career, Barrows was to receive a number of awards. He was the first recipient of the John P. Hubbard Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in 1984 and was later to receive the
Abraham Flexner Abraham Flexner (November 13, 1866 – September 21, 1959) was an American educator, best known for his role in the 20th century reform of medical education, medical and higher education in the United States and Canada. After founding and direct ...
award from the
Association of American Medical Colleges The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. that was established in 1876. It represents medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic and scientific societies, while providing serv ...
(AAMC).


Innovations in medical education

Early in his career, Barrows conducted basic research on clinical reasoning processes. When he joined the Faculty of Medicine at McMaster, the undergraduate curriculum was just in the process of being designed. Barrows argued that the teaching of medicine should be organized in a way that emulates the reasoning of a skilled practitioner. Rather than presenting information to students in a decontextualized, discipline-based way, Barrows proposed that students should be allowed to engage new information in the context of solving authentic clinical problems. In the course of exploring a problem, students in a PBL curriculum identify deficiencies in their understanding and identify their own resources for redressing these deficiencies. This is thought to foster skills for lifelong learning. Traditionally, the assessment of student learning in medical education has relied almost entirely on written exams. But there would seem to be more to being a competent practitioner than could ever be assessed using a paper and pencil test. Barrows' pioneering work on training actors to serve as
simulated patient In health care, a simulated patient (SP), also known as a standardized patient, sample patient, or patient instructor, is an individual trained to act as a real patient in order to simulate a set of symptoms or problems. Simulated patients have been ...
s opened the door to a new way of evaluating clinical skills. Simulated patients could be used to test the students' interactional and problem-solving skills. This kind of "performance-based" assessment has now been incorporated into national licensure exams for all U.S. medical students.van Zanten M, Boulet JR, McKinley DW, DeChamplain A, Jobe A. Assessing the communication and interpersonal skills of graduates of international medical schools as part of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) Exam. ''Academic Medicine'' (2007) 82(10): S65-S68.


Notes


External links


Tribute in the Springfield, IL ''State Journal-Register''''Teaching and Learning in Medicine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrows, Howard Southern Illinois University faculty Medical educators 1928 births 2011 deaths UC Berkeley College of Letters and Science alumni American neurologists People from Oak Park, Illinois Keck School of Medicine of USC alumni