Curriculum Development for Medical Education: A Six-Step Approach

At a time when society is demanding accountability from the medical education system and residency review committees are demanding written curricula, this book offers a practical, yet theoretically sound approach to curriculum development in medicine. The approach described in "Curriculum Development for Medical Education" has evolved over the past ten years, during which time the authors have taught curriculum development and evaluation skills to faculty and fellows in the Johns Hopkins University Faculty Development Programme for Clinician-Educators. Programme participants have used the techniques described here to develop curricula on topics as diverse as advance directives, office gynaecology for the generalist, a renal elective for internal medicine residents, and an office-based perceptorship for first-year medical students. Short, practical and generic in its approach, the book begins with an overview of a six-step approach for curriculum development. Each succeeding chapter then covers one of the six steps: problem identification; targeted needs assessment; goals and objectives; education methods; implementation; and evaluation. Throughout, examples are used to illustrate major points. "Curriculum Development for Medical Education" is designed for use by programme directors and others who are responsible for the educational experiences of medical students, residents, fellows and clinical practitioners.