Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Sep 2023)

Practical Guide to Undergraduate Medical Curriculum Alignment and Mapping

  • Mahzari M,
  • AlNahedh T,
  • Ahmed AA,
  • Al Rumyyan A,
  • Shaban S,
  • Magzoub ME

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 1001 – 1012

Abstract

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Moeber Mahzari,1– 3 Taghreed AlNahedh,1,4 Altayeb Abdalla Ahmed,2,4 Ahmed Al Rumyyan,2,5,6 Sami Shaban,7 Mohi Eldin Magzoub7 1Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Medicine, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Pediatrics, Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesCorrespondence: Moeber Mahzari, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Mail Code 3130, P.O. Box 3660, Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia, Tel +966 11 429 5335, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Curriculum development and reviews are of paramount importance for academic programs curriculum management. Medical curricula need proper construction and frequent updates to suits learning outcomes considering their integrative nature and rapid scientific advancement. Curriculum alignment and mapping are fundamental for proper integration and planning of medical curriculum. This process is beneficial in detecting gaps and redundancies, and ensuring proper instruction, integration, and transparency. However, there is a paucity in the literature of a practical guidance to such process. Hence, this manuscript provides a practical guidance that was adopted in our institutes.Methods: A detailed description of twelve step-by-step guidance to curriculum alignment and mapping was provided. The process needed for each step and the flow chart of work was detailed.Results: This guide was developed and implemented successfully. Among many benefits encountered, many gaps in the contents, learning outcomes and assessment methods were detected and rectified. Additionally, better curriculum integration has been achieved. The current mapping will make any future curriculum reviews easier.Conclusion: This guide could be utilized by newly developed and existing programs for curriculum alignment and mapping. It fills a gap in academic literature through stepwise workflow which has been tested and implemented.Keywords: curriculum, mapping, learning outcomes

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