A comparative curricular review project

This article describes a curriculum review project at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. The authors used the Core Curriculum in Osteopathic Education as a standard of comparison of the comprehensiveness of the college's instruction in osteopathic philosophy, principles, and practices and to clarify any differences between the Core Curriculum document and the college curriculum. The process involved a course-by-course search by student physicians and was reviewed by course faculty. Results revealed that the college's coverage was very similar to that proffered by the Core Curriculum. However, there were areas of instructional redundancy, questions of sequencing, and a few topics not addressed within the college curriculum. Thereafter, the faculty consolidated several courses, which produced a net savings of weekly contact hours and allowed further curricular change. Particular attention was given to the manner in which the other courses were scheduled, and, in turn, the consistency and stability of the entire first year was improved significantly.