This session will explore the phenomenon of curricular expansion, also commonly referred to as curricular overload. With knowledge, skills, and best practices ever-changing in health professions practice it is challenging to balance the incorporation of new evidence-based practices into an already packed curriculum. Using the presenter’s experience in pharmacy education this session will explore evidence-based teaching practices of backwards design to address curricular expansion while also considering the emotional connection to the content we teach.

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Understand whether and how health professions educators have used social media to share knowledge in the published literature
• Explore how health professions educators and researchers use prominent hashtags to share knowledge on social media platforms
• Identify ways that health professions educators use the knowledge they gain from social media to inform their own practices

The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) maintains engagement with the osteopathic medical education community, including the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM), to monitor emerging trends. Aligned with osteopathic principles and practice, AACOM and its institutions have strengthened nutrition education through initiatives such as Food as Medicine, reflecting a broader shift toward prevention, lifestyle-based care, and whole-person health. As healthcare and evidence evolve, COCA updates accreditation standards using stakeholder input, accreditation data, and public comment. Strong feedback supported the timely inclusion of nutrition, ensuring standards remain relevant, evidence-informed, and focused on preparing well-rounded physicians.

Teaching, learning, and the quality of practice in the health care professions can be significantly improved through reflective, critical thinking. In this think tank, the emphasis will be on how to activate critical thinking in professional education and practice in the health care professions.

The sessions will be relevant to those whose professional commitment is in any of the following fields: Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Health, Physical Therapy, Respiratory Therapy, Adjunct Therapies, Nutrition, Homeopathic Medicine, Dentistry, etc.

Faculty well-being is critical to health professions education, yet it remains an underemphasized topic in faculty development. Drawing on national survey data from educators at more than 40 U.S. medical schools, this session examines how workplace factors such as belonging, work-life balance, and institutional support shape educator well-being and job satisfaction. Differences across gender, race and ethnicity, and academic disciplines will also be discussed. We will use these results to identify key opportunities for intervention to support the well-being of both biomedical and clinical faculty across the health professions.