I AM sure that an excellent case could be made by some unfriendly person that there are no critical values in medical education, only those priorities assigned by physicians and deans out of an instinct for self-preservation. Acknowledging ownership of the adjective "critical," I must then admit two biases or assumptions from which values and issues derive that are of importance to me. These assumptions are: first, that there is a need for physicians, and second, that education makes a difference. I will expand on these two assumptions and present implications that I believe are important for the curriculum, the . . .