Teaching medicine under the integrated curriculum model: The importance of contemporary educational trends

Abstract

The integrated curriculum in medicine was first implemented more than 72 years ago. Its approach is very different from the “Flexnerian” curriculum, which divides medicine into basic and clinical sciences, with a great wall between these two large areas. At the same time, educational research supports the change towards teaching models that encourage active learning in medical students, and their students develop competencies that traditional curricula do not normally strongly promote (communication, interpersonal, organizational and management competencies, personal, technological, procedural and cognitive) from the beginning of their learning process. Even so, although the integrated curriculum has shown important advances in medical education, its implementation is difficult, and to date, at least in our country, no medical school presents a fully integrated approach. This review takes a historical overview of the integrated curriculum and, at the same time, emphasizes how its pedagogical aspects go hand in hand with new educational trends of active learning.