The Current Status of Preclinical Endocrine Education in U.S. Medical Schools

To characterize the current landscape of preclinical medical endocrine education in U.S. allopathic medical schools.

U.S. endocrine curriculum directors were asked to voluntarily complete a 16-question email survey surveying the status of endocrine preclinical education at their medical school.

Sixty-nine of 155 (45%) endocrine block director respondents completed the online survey between July 2021 and September 2021. A larger incoming class, a longer duration of the endocrine curriculum, and the offering of a separate endocrine curriculum (ie apart from the teaching of other organ systems) were each independently associated with an increased number of faculty teaching the course. Schools that used a gland-/organ-based curriculum only and those that used a combination of gland-/organ-based curriculum with topic-based curriculum differed significantly in their use of large lectures, small groups, and several curriculum components, including point of care glucose testing, continuous glucose monitoring, and insulin pumps.

This survey study reports the current landscape of preclinical endocrine education in the United States and describes opportunities to improve interest in pursuing endocrinology as a career.