Curricular mapping: an anti-stress tool for new medical students

Abstract

Objective : Recently, The University of Ottawa implemented an innovative curriculum for the incoming undergraduate medical class. Among many revisions, the curriculum became much more integrated and moved from 12 educational “blocks” to 6 integrative “units.” While this approach to the integration of content was pedagogically robust, it proved to be extremely challenging for first-year medical students. Many students found it difficult to understand how concepts fit together. The purpose of this study was to create a tool that could map the trajectory of the curriculum in order to reduce stress among students. Methods : During the summer of 2009, two students produced a “Foundations Unit Map.” This map grouped lectures into seven interconnected, color-coded disciplines. Subfields were bridged on the map by “integrative” topics that intentionally straddled more than one discipline. Results: The map was presented to the incoming class of the subsequent academic year. Some students reported that they felt less anxious about the range of topics to be covered as foundational to medicine and others found the presentation of all of the topics overwhelming, while others found that the map did not alter their stress levels. Conclusions : Curriculum maps can be effective tools for faculty and students, particularly where curricula are presented in innovative and challenging ways.