Introducing second-year medical students to diagnostic reasoning concepts and skills via a virtual curriculum

Curriculum for clinical reasoning in the preclinical years is sparse and the COVID-19 pandemic heightened the need for virtual curriculums.We developed, implemented and evaluated a virtual curriculum for preclinical students scaffolding key diagnostic reasoning concepts: dual process theory, diagnostic error, problem representation and illness scripts. Fifty-five second-year medical students participated in four 45-min virtual sessions led by one facilitator.The curriculum led to increased perceived understanding and increased confidence in diagnostic reasoning concepts and skills.The virtual curriculum was effective in introducing diagnostic reasoning and was well-received by second-year medical students.