Purpose
Although most faculty create their own teaching materials, research has shown that medical students increasingly are using external resources. ScholarRx is a digital biomedical science learning platform for medical school. A public allopathic medical school in the United States adopted this third-party resource during a curricular refresh, providing access to both faculty and students. This study used qualitative methods to investigate faculty members’ perceptions and use of the resource to gain deeper insight into the advantages of and barriers to integration of third-party resources within the formal medical curriculum.

Methods
Faculty who had used ScholarRx were invited to participate in this qualitative study. Seven participants (36.8% of the biomedical sciences teaching faculty) agreed to partake in semi-structured interviews. The research team included teaching faculty and medical students; we engaged in reflexivity, discussing our own experiences and biases about curricular and third-party resources. Every study team member read each deidentified transcript. We coded the transcripts iteratively and conducted an applied thematic analysis.

Results
Analysis resulted in five themes, providing insight into faculty’s understanding of ScholarRx, how they used it in their teaching, and their perceptions of the resource’s pros and cons. Most found ScholarRx to be efficient and versatile with multiple modalities. Many identified study resources, testable materials, or practice quizzes on the platform for learners. They also saw its utility for Step 1 preparation. However, faculty’s use and perception of the resource did vary across disciplines, with some disciplines utilizing the resource more than others. Most participants expressed interest in further expanding their use and exploring other aspects of the platform.

Conclusion
External resources such as ScholarRx have utility for both medical teaching faculty and learners. Medical schools providing third-party resource access to both faculty and learners can help bridge the gap to integrate third-party resources into the formal curriculum.