Design and Implementation of an Integrated Course to Teach Immunology and Infectious Disease to First Year Medical Students

The preclinical curriculum of the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine was designed to provide students with a strong basic science foundation to support clinical reasoning and decision making. Courses were collaboratively developed by teams of basic science and clinical faculty to maximize integration across disciplines and across time in order to support synthesis and learning in context. Here we describe the design and implementation of Foundations of Immunology and Infectious Disease, a five-week course for first year medical students that integrates immunology, microbiology, and core concepts of infectious disease. Within this framework, relevant aspects of pharmacology, anatomy, histology, pathology, genetics, and medical ethics are embedded to promote learner synthesis, application, and retention of material.