Collaboration to Enhance Learning: Students, Faculty and Other Stakeholders Partner to Integrate Third-Party Resources into the Preclerkship Curriculum

Abstract US medical students face the challenge of balancing parallel pre-clerkship curriculums: they study for institutional “in-house” exams while also preparing for USMLE Step 1 with third-party resources (3PRs). Additionally, preclinical faculty lack time and familiarity with 3PRs to effectively incorporate them into course work. Our project demonstrates how collaboration between students, faculty, and administrators can optimize learning by integrating 3PRs into our institution’s pre-clinical curriculum. Our approach included a needs assessment, development of Course to Resource Alignment Map (“CRAM”), faculty development, and student-led consultations; a model that can be adapted by other schools.