Wide and Deep Preparation for any Residency? Really?

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Standard 7 of the LCME Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs states that, “The faculty of a medical school ensure that the medical curriculum provides content of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare medical students for entry into any residency program and for the subsequent contemporary practice of medicine”. Is it possible to deliver enough curricular content to achieve this standard? Can students achieve competency in knowledge of gross anatomy, histology and embryology, given the small number of hours in integrated curricula common to our present‐day medical schools? Yes, and yes! Previous standards required us to “include” basic science content (ED‐7, ED‐11) and “include” laboratory opportunities (ED‐12). Students struggled to learn all that we were “including”, as we tried to consolidate our course content. The new standard asks us to “support medical students' mastery of contemporary scientific knowledge and concepts” (7.1), and to provide “opportunities for medical students to acquire skills of critical judgment based on evidence and experience” and “use those principles and skills effectively in solving problems of health and disease” (7.4). We will present approaches to help our schools meet Standard 7, the 2015 accreditation standard for curriculum content. We will discuss opportunities for inquiry‐based anatomy education, longitudinal curricula, and clinical skills training designed to advance knowledge of functional anatomy. There are opportunities for interprofessional education, as well as for faculty development, as we assist clinical colleagues recalling details of basic science and provide clinical context for basic science faculty. Furthermore, we must teach with outcomes in mind, and ask the students to learn and demonstrate mastery of anatomical principles in diverse application venues spread throughout the pre‐clinical and clinical years. Success will depend on significant effort toward content coordination in integrated curricula, documentation of educational activities, and student and faculty self‐reflection and growth. Anatomy faculty will need to ensure that anatomy principles are included in contemporary entrustable professional activities.