Curriculum Revision Recommendations

To build a framework for the curriculum revision and revitalization process, the task force members created an initial list of guiding principles;

Foundations

• The curriculum content will transcend discipline and will be patient centered.
• Biomedical, clinical and psychosocial sciences will be integrated with clinical skills and professional identity throughout the four year curriculum.
• The curriculum will promote contextual learning where basic science concepts are given clinical relevance by being introduced and assimilated in the context of common health issues and/or diseases.
• Early clinical experiences will be integrated into the curriculum and will be followed by intensive clinical experiences with opportunities to reinforce biomedical, clinical, and psychosocial sciences, clinical skills, humanism/altruism, and professional behavior.
• The curriculum will be designed to allow students to acquire a core set of competencies in the knowledge, skills and attitudes pre-requisite to graduate medical education.
• Innovative teaching methods will be encouraged and supported

Teaching and Learning

• The educational environment will promote students and faculty participation as mutually respectful partners in learning.
• The educational environment will support and facilitate the students’ immersion in peer learning, independent study and self-directed learning.
• The curriculum will facilitate student learning through the utilization of effective and evidence-based instruction methods.
• The curriculum will remain flexible to accommodate differences in students’ learning styles, learning needs and professional interests.
• The medical education program will be experiential and designed to facilitate students’ development of skills necessary for discovery, scholarship, critical and creative thinking, self-education and lifelong learning
• Curricular changes will be supported by faculty development programs

Assessment and Evaluation

• The curriculum will include a comprehensive program evaluation process that includes collection and triangulation of multiple data points, allowing effective evaluation and future revision.
• Achievement of a core set of learning outcomes, based on Accreditation Council Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competencies, will be required prior to student graduation. 
• Student assessment will include professional qualities, attitudes, and behaviors in addition to basic knowledge acquisition.
• Student assessment will include integrated examination of knowledge and clinical reasoning. Competency-based learning and assessment will be incorporated throughout the four year curriculum.

Gaps/Opportunities

• The curriculum will provide integrated content through a) integrating the basic sciences; b) integrating the basic sciences and clinical sciences; and c) integrating the study of normal structure and function with the study of abnormal, disordered structure and function
• The health care systems, issues of patient safety, quality care, diversity, and care delivery will be integrated throughout the curriculum.
• Population health, community leadership and service will be integrated throughout the curriculum.
• The concepts of health, clinical genetics, and disease prevention will be integrated throughout the curriculum.
• The curriculum will incorporate the use of appropriate information technology to support the academic learning environment and to ensure students’ ability to utilize clinical resources in medical practice.
• The curriculum will provide opportunities for students to acquire additional experience in selected areas of professional interest.
• The medical education program will offer student opportunities for experiences in research and scholarship.
• The medical education program will provide students with multiple opportunities to acquire the knowledge and practice the skills necessary for effective communication within, across, and between disciplines.
• Medical educators will be engaged in development of personal teaching skills and the practice of effective instruction methods.

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