Challenges in Nephrology Education: Integration of the Preclinical Curriculum.

Abstract

With the ongoing workforce crisis in nephrology, it is critically important to engage medical students early in their educational arc with continued touch points throughout the curriculum. Ideally, this begins with the preclinical learning experience as nephrology is notoriously one of the most difficult subjects in medicine to master. Over the last decade, medical schools have made a significant push toward shortening the preclinical experience from 2 years to less than 18 months to allow students earlier exposure to clinical medicine and a more deliberate integration of basic science concepts into the third- and fourth-year curriculum.