The Integrated Medical Curriculum

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.

This book is a concise, accessible problem-based approach to the subject using case scenarios to facilitate students taking their pre-clinical or basic sciences examinations. Using a family of characters in each case scenario, the text reflects the current changes in medical and biomedical science teaching that is increasingly moving towards a more integrated approach through-problem-based learning. The characters, all members of an extended family, appear in several scenarios and the student becomes familiar with their personalities and their disease processes. Each scenario covers the relevant anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, immunology and biochemistry and enables the reader to grasp the key concepts of basic medical sciences in an integrated fashion. Key Features: Takes an integrated approach to the subject to reflect recent changes in medical and biomedical science curriculum Further Study sections to enhance understanding and enable the student to read around the subject Intended learning outcomes included at the beginning of each chapter Trigger Boxes containing key facts and revision questions included throughout to ensure key concepts are fully understood Integrated Medical Sciences: The Essentials is an essential text for first and second year undergraduates taking medical or biomedical sciences (during the pre-clinical phase for medical students.). The book is also an invaluable resource for nursing degree students and allied health students taking courses in dentistry, physiotherapy and pharmacy. In addition, the book is ideal for US and international medical students preparing for the USMLE Step 1 examination.

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.

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.

The third edition of this invaluable text reflects significant changes driving curriculum development and renewal throughout medical education. Based on a proven six-step model and including examples and questions to guide application of those timeless principles, Curriculum Development for Medical Education is a practical guidebook for all faculty members and administrators responsible for the educational experiences of medical students, residents, fellows, and clinical practitioners. Incorporating revisions driven by calls for reform and innovations in medical education that challenge established teaching models, the third edition includes an awareness of new accreditation standards and regulatory guidelines. The authors have expanded their discussion of survey methodology for needs assessment and stress the importance of writing competency-based goals and objectives that incorporate milestones, entrustable professional activities, and observable practice activities. With updated examples focusing on interprofessional education, collaborative practice, and educational technology, they describe educational strategies that incorporate the new science of learning. A completely new chapter presents the unique challenges of curriculum development for large, long, and integrated curricula.

In the United States, broad study in an array of different disciplines â€"arts, humanities, science, mathematics, engineeringâ€" as well as an in-depth study within a special area of interest, have been defining characteristics of a higher education. But over time, in-depth study in a major discipline has come to dominate the curricula at many institutions. This evolution of the curriculum has been driven, in part, by increasing specialization in the academic disciplines. There is little doubt that disciplinary specialization has helped produce many of the achievement of the past century. Researchers in all academic disciplines have been able to delve more deeply into their areas of expertise, grappling with ever more specialized and fundamental problems. Yet today, many leaders, scholars, parents, and students are asking whether higher education has moved too far from its integrative tradition towards an approach heavily rooted in disciplinary "silos". These "silos" represent what many see as an artificial separation of academic disciplines. This study reflects a growing concern that the approach to higher education that favors disciplinary specialization is poorly calibrated to the challenges and opportunities of our time. The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education examines the evidence behind the assertion that educational programs that mutually integrate learning experiences in the humanities and arts with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) lead to improved educational and career outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students. It explores evidence regarding the value of integrating more STEMM curricula and labs into the academic programs of students majoring in the humanities and arts and evidence regarding the value of integrating curricula and experiences in the arts and humanities into college and university STEMM education programs.

Integration of complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM) with conventional medicine is occurring in hospitals and physicians offices, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are covering CAM therapies, insurance coverage for CAM is increasing, and integrative medicine centers and clinics are being established, many with close ties to medical schools and teaching hospitals. In determining what care to provide, the goal should be comprehensive care that uses the best scientific evidence available regarding benefits and harm, encourages a focus on healing, recognizes the importance of compassion and caring, emphasizes the centrality of relationship-based care, encourages patients to share in decision making about therapeutic options, and promotes choices in care that can include complementary therapies where appropriate. Numerous approaches to delivering integrative medicine have evolved. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States identifies an urgent need for health systems research that focuses on identifying the elements of these models, the outcomes of care delivered in these models, and whether these models are cost-effective when compared to conventional practice settings. It outlines areas of research in convention and CAM therapies, ways of integrating these therapies, development of curriculum that provides further education to health professionals, and an amendment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to improve quality, accurate labeling, research into use of supplements, incentives for privately funded research into their efficacy, and consumer protection against all potential hazards.