Advanced Integrated Science Courses: Building a Skill Set to Engage With the Interface of Research and Medicine

Using a boundary crossing lens to understand basic science educator and clinical educator collaboration in instructional design

PURPOSE

Collaborations between basic science educators (BE) and clinical educators (CE) in medical education are common and necessary to create integrated learning materials. However, few studies describe experiences of or processes used by educators engaged in interdisciplinary teamwork. We use the lens of boundary crossing to explore processes described by BE and CE that support the co-creation of integrated learning materials, and the impact that this work has on them.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted qualitative content analysis on program evaluation data from 27 BE and CE who worked on 12 teams as part of a multi-institutional instructional design project.

RESULTS

BE and CE productively engaged in collaboration using boundary crossing mechanisms. These included respecting diverse perspectives and expertise and finding efficient processes for completing shared work that allow BE and CE to build on each other's contributions. BE and CE developed confidence in connecting clinical concepts with causal explanations, and willingness to engage in and support such collaborations at their own institutions.

CONCLUSIONS

BE and CE report the use of boundary crossing mechanisms that support collaboration in instructional design. Such practices could be harnessed in future collaborations between BE and CE.

Planning, implementation and revision of the longitudinal scientific curriculum at the Medical School Brandenburg

Objectives

The aim of this paper is to present the development of a longitudinal curriculum for medical students that is rooted in the particularity of the medical sciences and that aims to build and strengthen medical students' scientific skills and use thereof in clinical practice.

Methods

The curriculum development was initiated based on students' feedback on the initial curriculum. To improve and expand the curriculum appropriately, a needs assessment, a literature review to define science specific to the medical sciences and practice, and an analysis of national and international curricula were performed. The curriculum development followed the PDCA cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act).

Results

The curriculum extends across the entire medical study programme from semesters 1 to 10. It consists of the seminar series on basic conduct and the epistemological groundings of science, scientific methods in medical research and health sciences, statistics and the scientific internship. Up to the sixth semester, the focus is on the acquisition of skills and abilities to work on and carry out a concrete research project; starting in semester seven, the critical evaluation and application of research results in everyday clinical practice are introduced. The curriculum is taught by epidemiologists, anthropologists, statisticians and public health scholars. Starting in semester seven, seminars are generally taught together with clinicians as tandem teaching. The curriculum is regularly assessed and adjusted.

Conclusions

The Brandenburg Scientific Curriculum can be seen as a model of a longitudinal curriculum to teach scientific thinking and acting. One that is at the same time highly integrated in the medical curriculum overall. A central coordination point seems to be necessary to coordinate the teaching content and to ensure that teachers are interconnected. Furthermore, a complex curriculum in scientific methodology requires a set of teachers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. To ensure equally high-quality education, the variability of research projects and faculty must be taken into account by establishing generally applicable evaluation criteria and fostering faculty development, and providing all students supporting courses throughout the research project.