Neurologic education for the future: a decade of curricular reform at Harvard Medical School

The field of neurology is undergoing significant changes to which curricular reform is both responding and contributing. We reflect on a decade of experience at Harvard Medical School with integration of neuroscience, behaviour, pathophysiology and introductory clinical skills. As part of Harvard's "New Pathway" curriculum, this coordinated, pre-clerkship program embraces a "hybrid" form of problem-based learning. A variety of methods are employed synergistically to meet the two broad goals of preparing for competency in neurologic clerkships and for career-long learning in clinically relevant neuroscience. We articulate specific ways of elevating the level of intellectual inquiry, involving multi-disciplinary faculty more productively, and vertically integrating the learning experience through the years of medical school.