Threads

Threads are curricular themes that are woven throughout all three phases of Indiana University School of Medicine's medical education program. Each thread is managed by a team of subject matter experts who work with various curricular teams to develop and integrate thread content in the curriculum. Threads focus on the following themes: Evidence-based Medicine; Medical Ethics; Principles of Primary Care; Care for the Medically Underserved and Vulnerable; Disability; and Health Equity: Impact of Systemic Racism on Indiana’s Black Communities.

Evidence-based Medicine

The Evidence-Based Medicine thread includes a group of medical educators who design learning objectives that thread through all four years of undergraduate medical education. This thread includes objectives for critical appraisal, biostatistics, public health, scientific method and clinical informatics with the goal of training life-long learners who are competent in practicing evidence-based medicine.

Medical Ethics

The purpose of the Medical Ethics thread is to facilitate the training of the future physicians in the practice of medicine according to the highest moral, ethical and legal standards.

Principles of Primary Care

The Primary Care thread will integrate knowledge about health systems science and primary care into the current curriculum. It will give all medical students a better understand of the intersection of primary care with a patient's general health.

Care for the Medically Underserved and Vulnerable

Dedicated to focus on those underserved and vulnerable, this thread's curriculum is being enhanced by adding foundational content on community engagement and community-based research, which will allow students to more effectively design relevant research projects.

Disability

The objective of the Disability thread is to better equip all IU School of Medicine graduates with competent skills in serving populations experiencing disability, and to support those with special interest in disability in their professional development.

Health Equity: Impact of Systemic Racism on Indiana's Black Communities

This thread aims to educate learners about racism in medicine and cultivate the indispensable, necessary skills for recognizing and eliminating health disparities. In conjunction with the anti-racism curriculum development effort, the newly-approved Health Equity, Advocacy & Leadership (HEAL) competency will ensure students emerge from their medical training with the self-awareness and leadership skills they need to promote health equity for patients, communities and health systems.