Shortening the preclinical curriculum. USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX-USA Level 1 going pass/fail. Heightened emphasis on clinical integration and professionalism within the pre-clerkship years. Amid these and other changes to preclinical medical education, medical science educators wonder, “How do the basic sciences and the educators who teach them still matter?” The IAMSE 2022 Winter webinar series will explore this question as we examine the evolving and constant roles of basic science educators. By integrating foundational disciplines throughout the medical school experience, basic science educators will continue to play vital roles in the education and development of physicians and other health care providers. 

In the first session, Drs. Nadia Ismail, Munder Zagaar, and David Rowley from Baylor College of Medicine will describe the steps taken to shorten an 18-month preclinical curriculum to 12 months. In session two, Dr. Rachel Wolfson from the University of Chicago will discuss the relevance of research in the medical school curriculum, highlighting results from a recent survey of residency program directors. In session three, Dr. Michelle Daniel from the University of California San Diego will examine vertical integration as she describes innovative strategies and persistent challenges when incorporating diverse basic science topics into the clerkships. Session four will welcome Dr. Michelle Lazarus from the Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Education (Australia) to demonstrate how basic science teaching practices may augment the development of professional identity among medical students. In the fifth and final session, Dr. David Harris from the University of Central Florida will discuss alternative strategies to assess basic science content in the absence of UMSLE STEP 1 numerical scoring.