Presented By: Paul Megee, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Co-Authors: James Grogan, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Alan Silverman, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Virginia Uhley, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

Purpose 
A long-standing goal of undergraduate medical education is the integration of foundational and clinical science, which benefits learners by promoting retention of critical knowledge and skills as well as their transfer to the clinical setting. Active learning resources that promote foundational science skill transfer to a clinical setting are under-represented in the medical education literature. 

Methods 
We developed a team-based learning (TBL) module in which foundational knowledge and skills from the disciplines of biochemistry, nutrition, and genetics are leveraged in a simulated patient encounter for diagnosis and management of a patient with dyslipidemia. The resource was designed for a first-year medical student cardiovascular system course with 125 students. Following individual and team readiness assurance tests (iRAT and tRAT, respectively), teams participated in an initial application exercise that requires consideration of clinical and laboratory data and other risk factors to engage the patient in a shared decision-making process. Using dietary and family history narratives in subsequent application exercises, teams completed recommendations for an individualized diet plan and an assessment of potential disease inheritance patterns to formulate appropriate patient care management strategies. 

Results 
Student engagement with pre-learning materials and session team activities was high as judged by RAT performance and application exercise outcomes. iRAT question performance ranges from 89-99% for individual items. Learners reported that the exercises were impactful and instilled belief that the learned foundational knowledge and skills are transferable to future patient care. 

Conclusions 
The dyslipidemia TBL module provides an illustration for early clinical learners of how foundational knowledge and skills can be operationalized and transferred for optimal patient care. Furthermore, facile adaptation of the exercise is possible to focus on pharmacological options for treatment of dyslipidemia or the ethical implications for disclosing a genetic diagnosis to first-degree relatives.