Aksha Memon - Creighton University School of Medicine
Preclinical years (M1 and M2) in the medical schools around the world have moved away from the discipline based didactic pedagogies into system-based, integrated outcome-based curricula. Integration of basic and clinical sciences enhances concept building, relevance to learning, reasoning and high order thinking skills among students. Integrated assessments can be at different levels: intradisciplinary, interdisciplinary (horizontal integration) as well as multidisciplinary (vertical integration). These are best created when both basic sciences faculty and clinical sciences faculty collaborate and choose appropriate methods of assessment in congruence with the teaching objectives so that all aspects of students learning experiences are evaluated. Students transiting from the preclinical to the clinical years need to integrate basic science concepts in understanding the pathophysiology behind the patient’s presenting symptoms. To achieve this, it is important for the learner to transcend discipline boundaries. Hence developing integrated questions and testing students would facilitate smooth transition of the students to the clinical years.