The Integrated Curriculum In Medical Education

It is increasingly recognised that the medical education curriculum should re-integrate basic sciences and clinical disciplines. This would enhance students' ability to integrate previous and future learning, link theory and professional standards to practice, and adapt to change.

Curriculum Development for Medical Education is designed for use by curriculum developers and others who are responsible for the educational experiences of medical students, residents, fellows, and clinical practitioners. Short, practical, and general in its approach, the book begins with a broad overview of the subject. Each succeeding chapter covers one of the six steps: problem identification and general needs assessment, targeted needs assessment, goals and objectives, educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation. Additional chapters address curriculum maintenance, enhancement, and dissemination. The six-step approach outlined here has evolved over the past twenty years, during which time the authors have taught curriculum development and evaluation skills to faculty and fellows in the Johns Hopkins University Faculty Development Program for Clinician-Educators. Program participants have used the techniques described to develop curricula on such diverse topics as preclerkship skills building, clinical reasoning and shared decision making, outpatient internal medicine, musculoskeletal disorders, office gynecology for the generalist, chronic illness and disability, geriatrics for nongeriatric faculty, surgical skills assessment, laparoscopic surgical skills, cross-cultural competence, and medical ethics. This thoroughly revised edition includes a broad discussion of competencies mandated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and other bodies, current information on education technology, increased emphasis on scholarships related to curriculum development, and advice on obtaining institutional review board approval. Updated examples throughout the book illustrate major points. The expanded appendixes include samples of complete curricula and information on funding, faculty development, and curricular resources.

This book raises fundamental questions about the propriety of continuing to use a premedical curriculum developed more than a century ago to select students for training as future physicians for the twenty-first century. In it, Dr. Donald A. Barr examines the historical origins, evolution, and current state of premedical education in the United States. One hundred years ago, Abraham Flexner's report on Medical Education in the United States and Canada helped establish the modern paradigm of premedical and medical education. Barr’s research finds the system of premedical education that evolved to be a poor predictor of subsequent clinical competency and professional excellence, while simultaneously discouraging many students from underrepresented minority groups or economically disadvantaged backgrounds from pursuing a career as a physician. Analyzing more than fifty years of research, Barr shows that many of the best prospects are not being admitted to medical schools, with long-term adverse consequences for the U.S. medical profession. The root of the problem, Barr argues, is the premedical curriculum—which overemphasizes biology, chemistry, and physics by teaching them as separate, discrete subjects. In proposing a fundamental restructuring of premedical education, Barr makes the case for parallel tracks of undergraduate science education: one that would largely retain the current system; and a second that would integrate the life sciences in a problem-based, collaborative learning pedagogy. Barr argues that the new, integrated curriculum will encourage greater educational and social diversity among premedical candidates without weakening the quality of the education. He includes an evaluative research framework to judge the outcome of such a restructured system. This historical and cultural analysis of premedical education in the United States is the crucial first step in questioning the appropriateness of continuing a hundred-year-old, empirically dubious pedagogical model for the twenty-first century.

The quintessential resource on the important topic of curriculum integration! Going well beyond other books on this subject, James Beane details the history of curriculum integration and analyzes current critiques to provide a complete theory of curriculum integration. He defines curriculum integration as a comprehensive approach rather than simply “rearranging subjects.” Using many classroom examples, he explains the relationship between curriculum integration and the disciplines of knowledge. The approach set forth in this groundbreaking volume translates into a democratic vision of general education that transcends the current standards movement. “Offers clear and understandable examples of what curriculum integration means, how it can work, and how it fits a model of democratic education.” —Choice “In this time of conservative attacks on progressive education, it is crucial that we defend and extend democratic policies and practices. James Beane has been one of the most important figures in articulating democratic possibilities in schools. Curriculum Integration shows why he so deserves our respect. It provides a clear and insightful picture of the arguments and realities of democratic curriculum development and teaching.” —Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin–Madison “Jim Beane urges us to completely rethink how we pursue intellectual inquiry, as well as who makes the decisions in the classroom and what our ultimate goals are. Taken seriously, as it ought to be, [his] approach could revolutionize American education.” —Alfie Kohn, author of Punished by Rewards and Beyond Discipline “Beane writes directly with a passion that reflects long-in-the-making and deeply rooted convictions about education, youth, and democracy.... This book is a critically important resource . . . and it will remain so for years to come.” —John H. Lounsbury, National Middle School Association

This volume combines research and practice on integrated developmentally appropriate curriculum in a manner that will help theorists, researchers, parents, school administrators, and teachers understand how to match early childhood teaching practices to the integrated manner that young children naturally think and learn. The book features specialists in each of the traditional curriculum areas (e.g., math, science, literacy) who share their expertise on how to accomplish this in practical and meaningful ways based on NAEYC and other professional organization guidelines. What an integrated curriculum means for assessment, children with disabilities, guidance, parenting, social development, and multicultural perspectives in early childhood education is also covered.

The Fifth Edition of the highly praised Practical Guide for Medical Teachers provides a bridge between the theoretical aspects of medical education and the delivery of enthusiastic and effective teaching in basic science and clinical medicine. Healthcare professionals are committed teachers and this book is an essential guide to help them maximise their performance. This highly regarded book recognises the importance of educational skills in the delivery of quality teaching in medicine. The contents offer valuable insights into all important aspects of medical education today. A leading educationalist from the USA joins the book’s editorial team. The continual emergence of new topics is recognised in this new edition with nine new chapters: The role of patients as teachers and assessors; Medical humanities; Decision-making; Alternative medicine; Global awareness; Education at a time of ubiquitous information; Programmative assessment; Student engagement; and Social accountability. An enlarged group of authors from more than 15 countries provides both an international perspective and a multi-professional approach to topics of interest to all healthcare teachers.

People are increasingly concerned about potential environmental health hazards and often ask their physicians questions such as: "Is the tap water safe to drink?" "Is it safe to live near power lines?" Unfortunately, physicians often lack the information and training related to environmental health risks needed to answer such questions. This book discusses six competency based learning objectives for all medical school students, discusses the relevance of environmental health to specific courses and clerkships, and demonstrates how to integrate environmental health into the curriculum through published case studies, some of which are included in one of the book's three appendices. Also included is a guide on where to obtain additional information for treatment, referral, and follow-up for diseases with possible environmental and/or occupational origins.