To the School of Medicine community:

Dean Jack D. Sobel, M.D., and Vice Dean of Medical Education Richard Baker, M.D., sent you updates regarding our Year 1 curriculum revision in January and December, respectively. We are pleased to now have the opportunity to share with you how this transition to an integrated organ system-based curriculum will positively impact basic science courses for future Warrior M.D. students.

As you may know, we have been working across disciplines together for quite some time to enhance our basic science units. Thanks to our School of Medicine retreat in October, we have gained additional momentum and insight, collaborating, connecting and coordinating with others across our institution to better prepare them to be health care leaders and advocates.

Our entire curriculum revision team aspires to "coach up" our students, train them earlier, and provide them context as to how/why to apply classroom learning within clinics and in the community. Our goals include ensuring students understand the rationale behind courses and learning objectives, and working collaboratively to provide them with associated clinical skills training. To give students an even greater start, we have aligned the basic science curriculum to best take advantage of cadaver dissection opportunities for additional hands-on experience.

Though we anticipate additional changes within this process, we want to share system unit course descriptions and assessment methodologies with you now via the below "Course information" button. Please be advised that you will need to zoom in on the document and that we will present this information in a more digestible manner on our forthcoming curriculum revision website shortly. 

Examples of additional potential goals include:

• First day experience – Charting and investigating first patient findings beginning the first day of Anatomy lab, and practicing specific clinical skills such as intubation and joint injection.
• Step 1 – Year 1 peer educator-led Step 1 reviews, and based on spaced repetition, summative assessments to be National Board Of Medical Examiners-based exams composed of Step 1 questions.
• Assessment – Less emphasis on multiple-choice exams and greater weighting on self-directed performance.

Impactful change takes hard work. Fortunately, the great privilege of working on behalf of our remarkable students drives us forward each and every day. We thank you for any role you have played or will play in helping us revise and integrate our basic science courses to ensure student success.

Stay tuned for future curriculum revision messages.

Sincerely,
The Basic Sciences Team

Dr. Matt Jackson
Dr. Simone Brennan
Dr. Sharon Ackerman
Dr. Paul Walker
Dr. Robert Lasley
Dr. Rod Braun
Dr. Lawrence Lash
Dr. Jean Peduzzi-Nelson