Purpose   
Integrating foundational science into the clinical (Application) phase can be challenging, as students often view it as separate from clinical decision-making. This project aimed to reinforce the relevance of foundational concepts to clinical care by developing and embedding integrated materials into clerkships—ultimately advancing curriculum development.

Methods   
During the 2024–2025 academic year, the Foundational Science Thread leaders met individually with third-year clerkship directors to support the integration of foundational science into the clinical (Application) phase curriculum. Each director identified key clinical concepts and curricular gaps that could be reinforced through foundational science.

Consistently labeled as “Foundational Integrated Thread” (FIT) content, the materials included lecture slides, stand-alone PowerPoints (with or without screencasts), and summary handouts. Students were notified of the content via the course syllabus and clerkship orientation announcements.

Results  
The primary outcome was the addition of fourteen clarifying topics across the eight clerkships. Pertinent topics identified among the clerkships ranged from drug therapies for heart failure in the Family Medicine clerkship to foundational concepts for biopsy boundaries for the Surgery clerkship.

Conclusion   
This initiative reinforces the essential role of foundational science in clinical practice by explicitly linking basic science principles to real-world patient care. By integrating this content into the clinical phase, we aim to help students recognize that foundational knowledge is not separate from—but central to—clinical reasoning and decision-making. The project has also strengthened collaboration between preclinical (M1/M2) and clinical (M3) educators, supporting the vision of medical education as a longitudinal, integrated continuum.