University of Virginia School of Medicine
Fundamental Principles for Medical Education:
Guidelines for Curriculum Development

• The curriculum should be determined by the professional educational needs of students of medicine
  
  
• The competencies and cognitive activities required of medical students should be the basis for determining instructional content and should be clearly stated as objectives
  
  
• Meaningful correlation between the principles upon which medicine is based and the clinical practice of medicine should be evident
  
  
• Material should be presented in a manner promoting understanding and retention
  
  

  a) present material in context

  b) avoid overload of information

  c) utilize opportunities for reinforcement

  d) design progressive accumulation of related information, skills and values

  e) design simultaneous acquisition of knowledge and or skills and professional values
  
  

• Incorporate information management skills (finding, organizing, evaluating and applying information) using state of the art information technology
  
  
• Enact useful student evaluation balanced between measures of factual and applied knowledge as described in stated objectives
  
  
• Institute governance and management organizations that support an integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum, making use of evaluative data to continuously improve the curriculum
  
  
• Recognize the value of the educational work of the school and faculty