A Snapshot of an Innovative Approach towards Integrated Medical Biochemistry Teaching across the Pre-clerkship...

Medical biochemistry (MB) is usually taught at the inception of a medical curriculum with little to no clinical context. The timing of delivery and the antiquated teaching methods have portrayed MB in a negative light, limiting the appreciation of its importance in medical practice. To address the issue, the authors have developed a spirally integrated approach to teaching the subject, in which foundational MB topics are intentionally woven throughout the pre-clerkship curriculum, allowing students to revisit and deepen their understanding of the material in progressively more clinical and interdisciplinary contexts. The above-mentioned approach included careful scrutiny of the curriculum to identify key interdisciplinary connections between selected biochemistry topics and other foundational and clinical sciences. This was followed by the development of clinical scenarios and a structured map for delivering the selected topics in a spiral fashion across multiple courses throughout the pre-clerkship curriculum. The novel teaching approach aims to generate greater enthusiasm for MB among medical students, leading to a stronger appreciation of its role in medicine. The engagement of medical students with the material and the purposefully designed repeated encounter is envisioned to translate into noticeable improvement in students' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. The spiral approach to content delivery is designed not only to enhance content mastery but also to support broader cognitive skill development in medical students. Faculty members may also benefit from improved teaching effectiveness and greater appreciation from students. This article provides a snapshot of this innovative teaching method, along with important tips for integrated instruction of a few common MB topics in the pre-clerkship phase of medical education. It also emphasizes the need to craft, implement, and evaluate a fully integrated MB curriculum blueprint as a resource for faculty development for medical educators worldwide.