Reforma curricular de la carrera de Medicina de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

The career of Medicine at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile was established from the beginning (1929), with a classical Flexner curriculum design. In seven years, the career is divided in three cycles: basic sciences, clinics and internship. It obtained Chilean accreditation and fulfilled American Association of Medical Colleges accreditation requirements. Changes in the Chilean epidemiological profile and health system, and new teaching methods in medicine, stimulated a process of deep curricular analysis, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the medical career. The curricular strengths were well-developed scientific and clinical components, fully committed students and faculties, well defined learning objectives and excellent clinical campuses. Curricular weaknesses included a poor vertical and horizontal integration, few student centered methodologies and a weak emphasis concerning doctoru0027s professionalism. Subsequently, the whole community of teachers, students and medical educators worked on the design of a new curriculum, establishing a new graduate profile and designed it oriented by learning objectives, of six years of duration, with an optimized course sequence that melds basic science and clinical concepts, with strong emphasis on humanities and professionalism. It prioritizes an early contact with patients from the first year and expands teaching methods. The main objective of this process was to achieve a new curriculum with an integrative structure. This was implemented in 2015 with an approved protocol to evaluate the outcomes.