Correction: Clinical reasoning education in the clerkship years: A cross-disciplinary national needs assessment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

The 6 degrees of curriculum integration in medical education in the United States.

Despite explicit expectations and accreditation requirements for integrated curriculum, there needs to be more clarity around an accepted common definition, best practices for implementation, and criteria for successful curriculum integration. To address the lack of consensus surrounding integration, we reviewed the literature and herein propose a definition for curriculum integration for the medical education audience. We further believe that medical education is ready to move beyond “horizontal” (1-dimensional) and “vertical” (2-dimensional) integration and propose a model of “6 degrees of curriculum integration” to expand the 2-dimensional concept for future designs of medical education programs and best prepare learners to meet the needs of patients.

Demise of the USMLE Step-2 CS exam: Rationalizing a way forward.

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled rethinking and changes in medical education, the most controversial perhaps being the cancelation of USMLE Step-2 Clinical Skills exam (Step-2 CS). What started in March of 2020 as suspension of this professional licensure exam, because of concerns about infection risk for examinees, standardized patients (SPs), and administrators, soon became permanent cancelation in January 2021. Expectedly, it triggered debate in medical education circles.

Clinical reasoning education in the clerkship years: A cross-disciplinary national needs assessment.

Background: Improving clinical reasoning education has been identified as an important strategy to reduce diagnostic error-an important cause of adverse patient outcomes. Clinical reasoning is fundamental to each specialty, yet the extent to which explicit instruction in clinical reasoning occurs across specialties in the clerkship years remains unclear.

Method: The Alliance for Clinical Education (ACE) Clinical Reasoning Workgroup and the Directors of Clinical Skills Courses (DOCS) Clinical Reasoning Workgroup collaborated to develop a clinical reasoning needs assessment survey.

Becoming a Doctor During a Pandemic: Impact on Medical Student Social Identity Formation.

The COVID-19 pandemic required modifications to undergraduate medical education that likely affected medical students' social identity formation (SIF). SIF is shaped by experiences throughout the medical education continuum. This commentary explores factors potentially affecting medical student SIF during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on students' perceptions of being part of the healthcare team, their role in medicine, and their engagement during the pandemic.