The Nexus - A Novel Web-Based Curriculum Development Tool

May 4, 2012 8:00 AM – 9:30am

Michael M Awad MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis School of Med

Medical education in the 21st century is evolving at a breathtaking pace. Curriculum developers are challenged with creating and maintaining programs for their trainees that encompass the latest in medical knowledge and skills training, while also incorporating newer concepts such as professionalism, communication skills, and systems-based practice. To facilitate the process of curriculum development, we developed an innovative, on-line interactive program, entitled the Nexus. The goals of the Nexus are: (1) To foster the development of novel medical curricula that systematically incorporate sound educational principles. (2) To develop a national network of medical curriculum developers. (3) To facilitate compliance with national accreditation requirements. The Nexus employs a web-based interface whereby users are guided through fundamental steps of curricular development. At each step, the Nexus offers real-time suggestions and examples from a consortium of institutions. Contributors agree to provide their educational content in an “open source” fashion so that others may use and modify it without restriction. We have also partnered with the AAMC and Medbiquitous in developing the curriculum inventory standards that will be used to ensure cross-platform interoperability. We believe the Nexus will help to break down conventional barriers to the dissemination of medical education tools and foster the strengthening of medical curricula nationwide.