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A Guide to Competencies, Educational Goals, and Learning Objectives for Teaching Human Embryology in an Undergraduate Medical Education Setting

Medical Science Educator volume 28, pages 417–428 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

With the rapidly changing course of medical education and ever-increasing time restrictions on basic biomedical science instruction, most educators have one question in common—what is the most relevant information for the next generation of physicians? The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) and the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) support a list of learning objectives for medical students defined by faculty prior to any educational activities, regardless of pedagogy. The question remains—what ensures competency for medical students in a given subject area upon completion of the course? To accomplish the task to ensure competency in human clinical embryology, a 6-month interactive online collaboration was formed. The outcome is a set of competencies in human embryology that should be required of all medical students, with the goals and learning objectives required to achieve these competencies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to extend special thanks to the following clinicians for their help with reviewing the manuscript: Suzanne D Reuter, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of Neonatology, Sanford School of Medicine, USD; Joseph A. Zenel, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Pediatric Residency, Sanford School of Medicine, USD; Brenda Kallemeyn, MD, FACOG, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sanford School of Medicine, USD; and Laurie Landeen, MD, Ob/Gyn Clerkship Director, Sanford School of Medicine, USD. We wish to thank Pamela Baker (Associate Dean/Associate Professor of Undergraduate Medical Education, Curriculum Development & Assessment, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati) for her expert opinion on the project. We express our gratitude to Lynne Opperman (Regents Professor and Head, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University College of Dentistry), Judith M. Venuti (Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine), and Kimberly Topp (Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and the Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco) for their help with reviewing the manuscript. We also wish to thank Shawn Boynes (Executive Director, AAA) and Elizabeth Austin (Communications and Marketing Manager, AAA) for their help and support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA

    Manas Das

  2. Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, Room 216, Lee Medical Building, 414 E. Clark Street, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA

    Manas Das

  3. Department of Bio-Medical Sciences, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Kerin M. Claeson

  4. Department of Medical Education, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Donald J. Lowrie Jr.

  5. Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    David L. Bolender

  6. Preclinical Sciences, College of Podiatric Medicine, Kent State University, Independence, OH, USA

    John R. Fredieu

  7. University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis

    Geoffrey Guttmann

  8. Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Marianne L. Conway

  9. Indian Institute of Morphology, Kolkata, India

    Tamojit Ghosh

  10. Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA

    Anna C. Edmondson

  11. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA

    R. John Cork

  12. Department of Medical Education, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Edinburg, TX, USA

    Padmanabhan Rengasamy

  13. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA

    Lisa M. J. Lee

  14. Department of Cell and Molecular Medicine, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA

    James M. Williams

  15. Department of Pathology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA

    Kerby C. Oberg

Authors
  1. Manas Das
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  2. Kerin M. Claeson
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  3. Donald J. Lowrie Jr.
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  4. David L. Bolender
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  5. John R. Fredieu
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  6. Geoffrey Guttmann
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  7. Marianne L. Conway
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  8. Tamojit Ghosh
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  9. Anna C. Edmondson
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  10. R. John Cork
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  11. Padmanabhan Rengasamy
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  12. Lisa M. J. Lee
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  13. James M. Williams
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  14. Kerby C. Oberg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manas Das.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Das, M., Claeson, K.M., Lowrie, D.J. et al. A Guide to Competencies, Educational Goals, and Learning Objectives for Teaching Human Embryology in an Undergraduate Medical Education Setting. Med.Sci.Educ. 28, 417–428 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-018-0542-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-018-0542-5

Keywords

  • Embryology
  • Medical education
  • Competency
  • Goals
  • Learning objectives