The health care needs of the public play a major role in the current determination of medical school curricula. Social sensitivity to the special health needs of women has led to consideration and implementation of women's studies in medical education. The educational concept of area study recognizes the need for studying some topics by coordinating educational material and is based on the belief that basic education should have relevance for contemporary life. Major problems incurred in the development of area study curricula have been to overcome a reputation for superficiality and ambiguity in area study programs, the professional specialization of the teachers, and the difficulty of closed-mindedness of teachers toward divergent perspectives of emotionally laden topics. A department of psychiatry's approach to women's studies is presented as an example of a clinical department's teaching of such studies.