PURPOSE
Integrating foundational science across the preclinical and clinical
medical curriculum offers unique opportunities for cross-curricular faculty
development. This project details a series of formal and informal
consultations with faculty centered around integrating core concepts with
clinical reasoning to enhance the curriculum.
METHODS
A faculty development workshop was tailored for education leaders across
multiple phases of the medical curriculum. Twenty-seven faculty across the
preclinical and clinical curriculum participated in a 90-minute workshop to
bridge the gap between foundational science teaching and clinical
application. Each of the eight clerkship directors was paired with two
foundational science course directors across fourteen courses in the
preclinical curriculum to specify content areas where the foundational
science and clinical reasoning overlapped, and ways to make this connection
more explicit. A second series of individual consults with clerkship
directors and foundational science thread leaders was organized for focus
sessions on curricular gaps to bring forward core principle content during
the clinical phase of medical training.
RESULTS
The faculty retreat fostered cross-curricular integration and communication
with faculty at multiple points in the medical curriculum. Qualitative
comments noted the networking time was valuable and proposed more time for
small group interaction and specific examples from courses. Additionally,
through the individualized consultations, thirteen targeted topics were
integrated across eight clerkships via new teaching materials. Examples
ranged from TORCH infections in Pediatrics to HPV mechanism of neoplasia in
OB-GYN. These additions not only enriched clinical teaching but also served
as catalysts for faculty engagement in integrated curriculum design.
 
CONCLUSIONS
The faculty development workshop and consults described here may be useful
as a template for introductory cross-curricular discussions. Future
directions include expansion of the course and clerkship directors consults
alongside foundational science thread leaders, with opportunities for a
collaborative group meeting to share curricular innovations from these
conversations.