The new curriculum will:

• Consolidate the best elements of the current two-track system into a single program.
• Reduce the number of required classes in favor of courses that integrate several disciplines.
• Increase the amount of active learning, with diminished reliance on lectures, and instead use class time for working in teams to apply knowledge to clinical cases.
• Provide students with opportunities to earn concentrations from other schools within Drexel, such as population health, informatics or business.
• Continue our longstanding focus on community engagement and service.

Medical knowledge is changing so rapidly that if we say, "We're going to teach you everything you need to know," the facts will be different in five years. Instead, we are giving students models of how the body works and skills in problem solving and lifelong learning.

The curriculum emphasizes early and frequent clinical exposure, team learning, community and civic engagement, and cultural competence. The new curriculum will be supported technologically by Drexel-developed iPad applications and the College's state-of-the-art Simulation Center and Clinical Education Center.

Because graduates will need to understand more about the greater world of health and health care, we are collaborating with other Drexel schools and colleges to offer cutting-edge courses in areas such as health informatics, population health, patient safety, biotechnology, health care systems and financing, and principles of translational research.

Read more about the new curriculum, beginning on page 8, and you'll understand why we call it "Foundations and Frontiers."

Cordially,
Valerie Weber, MD
Vice Dean for Educational Affairs