Integration of Biomedical Sciences in the Family Medicine Clerkship Using Case-Based Learning

Integration of biomedical and clinical sciences has been a focus of curricular change in undergraduate medical education since the second half of the twentieth century. While clinical sciences have been successfully embedded throughout the preclinical curriculum of many schools, integration of biomedical science into clinical clerkships remains a challenge. Here, we describe our approach to create case-based learning modules that integrate infectious disease and pharmacology content into the third-year family medicine clerkship rotation to improve transfer of biomedical science knowledge to the clinical setting, and to enhance student recall and use of biomedical science knowledge within a clinical context. To assess student perceptions and experience of the learning event, students completed a voluntary questionnaire, the results of which revealed that the majority of students felt that the exercise focused on high-yield concepts in infectious disease, pharmacology, and family medicine. Students also indicated that integration of additional biomedical science disciplines into the family medicine rotation would be valuable, as would extending the approach into the other third-year clerkships.