Purpose
National and international medical education organizations support an integrated medical curriculum. Osteopathic medical schools additionally aim to integrate osteopathic principles and practice (OPP) knowledge within an organ-systems-based curriculum fostering connections between OPP expertise with broader medical knowledge. However, faculty can struggle with achieving this integration. Eight disease states in the systems-based courses were identified as aligning with OPP course content. This study explored faculty perceptions of embedding OPP content into organ systems disease states through interviews.

Methods
Faculty delivering sessions related to the eight disease states in the systems-based courses were interviewed using pre-determined questions about the willingness and feasibility of incorporating OPP content. Responses were recorded, and the transcripts were independently reviewed using a thematic analysis framework. The authors collaboratively agreed upon the themes for the study.

Results
Thematic analysis identified four key themes: willingness to collaborate, session time constraints, professional development related to OPP knowledge, and content assessment. Faculty expressed willingness to collaborate with OPP faculty to reinforce osteopathic techniques for the disease states identified. Concerns were raised about adding OPP content to sessions that are already dense with content and how to assess the OPP material within the systems-based courses.

Conclusion
Implementation of integrated content between basic, clinical, and OPP sciences continues to evolve in medical education curriculum. Faculty expressed a willingness to collaborate, though faculty with MD and PhD training indicated a need for additional support to incorporate OPP content effectively. To address these challenges, initiatives include: (1) establishing interdisciplinary disease state teams to foster faculty collaboration and implementation; (2) developing integrated cases for the disease states combining basic, clinical and OPP sciences for teaching and assessment, and (3) offering professional development led by OPP faculty. These efforts aim to enhance the integrated curriculum, equipping medical students to apply interdisciplinary knowledge to clinical practice.