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1%), and Statistics (Biostatistics 42.9%; General Statistics 13.3%). There was less agreement among programs in regards to Calculus II (20.0%), Organic Chemistry (2 semesters, 55.6%), and Biochemistry I (47%), which may be reflective of individual department focus. There was considerable heterogeneity among physiology program course requirements for disciplinary core courses and upper division electives. This report is meant to generate discussion on physiology program curricula in efforts to improve physiology education for majors and assist P-MIG in determining minimal points of consensus as they write the first set of national curricular guidelines for degree programs.Unlike other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines, program guidelines for undergraduate physiology degree programs have yet to be firmly established. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of physiology core concepts within undergraduate physiology curricula to discern whether a common subset could be broadly recommended for inclusion in programmatic guidelines. A curricular survey tool was developed to evaluate the depth to which each core concept was included in physiology curricula. Seven self-selected physiology programs assessed core concept inclusion across all courses within the major (0 = not covered, 1 = minimally covered, and 2 = covered to a great extent). The top core concepts ranked by each institution varied considerably, but all were robustly represented across programs. The top five combined rankings for all institutions were as follows 1) interdependence (1.47 ± 0.63); 2) structure/function (1.46 ± 0.72); 3) homeostasis (1.45 ± 0.71); 4) scientific reasoning (1.44 ± 0.70); and 5) cell-cell communication (1.38 ± 0.75). No common subset of specific core concepts was evident among the seven participating institutions. Next, results were compared with recent Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) faculty and student surveys that ascertained perceptions of the top five most important core concepts. Three core concepts (homeostasis, structure/function, cell-cell communication) appeared in the top five in more than one-half of survey questions included. We recommend that future programmatic guidelines focus on inclusion of the core concepts of physiology as general models to scaffold learning in physiology curricula, but the programmatic guidelines should allow flexibility in the core concepts emphasized based on program objectives.The Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG) is a grass-roots consortium of physiology educators with the common interest of creating program-level guidelines for undergraduate physiology and related programs. A key component of the consortium's activities are the annual P-MIG conferences that have been held at different universities over the past 3 yr (Michigan State University, 2017; University of Arizona, 2018; and University of Minnesota, 2019). Postconference surveys indicate that the conferences are highly valued by the participants, as they have provided an opportunity to get to know others who are passionate about undergraduate education, to discuss best practices in program and course delivery, and to form working groups with the goal to develop national and international guidelines for physiology program delivery and assessment.Diabetes, a chronic condition that impacts millions, is a complex disease. Understanding the disease can contribute to increasing awareness about this debilitating condition and preventing occurrences. Furthermore, inculcation of physiology knowledge may lead to an increased likelihood of career goals that align with this area of study. In pursuit of these goals, we set out to educate middle and high school students about diabetes. Thirty (16 high school; 14 middle school) students from a Sunday school program at an urban religious center completed a 10-question pretest as a way to measure initial knowledge about diabetes. Following completion of the survey, a 1-h education session was presented by a local physician who also brought a glucometer and insulin syringes for students to have a hands-on experience with some disease-specific tools. A posttest was administered following the presentation. selleckchem The posttest consisted of 11 questions, where all but 2 questions were the same as for the pretest, measuring improvement of prior knowledge and engagement in the presentation. The overall posttest average score increased by approximately two correct responses, which was a significant improvement (P less then 0.0001), suggesting that the students were motivated to and did learn diabetes concepts. This study also suggests that exposing students to educational activities related to physiology is beneficial and may lead to an increase in interest in physiology, an awareness of diabetes, and perhaps the development of healthy habits.The author discusses the benefits of curriculum alignment and the development of a new database system called e-CMS (electronic curriculum mapping system) for organizing curriculum alignment initiatives. Fundamental to the systematic organization of curriculum is understanding the interplay between three alignment factors present in all courses assessments, TLAs (teaching and learning activities), and objectives, also known as the triadic model of alignment. Also important to this process is the inclusion of external alignment factors, such as cognitive level, professional skills, and the core concepts of physiology. When organized properly, alignment of internal and external factors provides a common language for discussing and comparing courses across departments and institutions. Databases such as e-CMS not only help organize curriculum, but also offer almost unlimited ways to combine, analyze, and share resultant data. This could provide value to students and their future employers by communicating with confidence the evidence-based knowledge, skills, and abilities gained in a course or program. The next phase of the alignment initiative that produced e-CMS is to develop a distributed online database for housing and sharing aligned assessments.Journal club (JC) is an integral part of postgraduate medical education. Although several innovations have been attempted to improve its effectiveness, the influence of the number of sessions remains unexplored. The current study investigated the effect of the number of sessions (one vs. four) of conduction of journal club on critical appraisal skills of postgraduate students at two institutions. A quasi-experimental study was conducted comparing the effectiveness of JC in a one- versus four-session JC format using two objective tests Critical Appraisal Skills Test (CAST) and Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) score. The degree of changes (pre-JC vs. post-JC session) after each format exposure, association of prescores to postscores, and correlation between the CAST and PICO scores were discerned. CAST score was higher in the four-session format (P = 0.03), whereas PICO score increased in the single-session format of JC (P = 0.03). Also, the change in CAST score was higher in the four-session versus single-session JC format (P = 0.04). We conclude that a four-session format of JC is more effective in augmenting critical appraisal skills of postgraduate students, whereas a single session is sufficient for improving factual knowledge.Academic advising outcomes can be linked to both student success and retention. Yet relatively little is known specifically related to advising in physiology programs. Professional organizations dedicated to academic advising in general, and more specifically advising future health professional students exist, yet, whether current physiology programs utilize these resources remains unknown, as does a number of other demographic information about advising in physiology programs. Here we present data gathered from a sample of physiology educators to inform what current advising practices of physiology students are. Forty-five respondents from a variety of institutions and programs provided information on advising structures, resources utilized, student populations, and concerns. While programs may differ, many of the concerns regarding advising physiology students are the same.It is increasingly difficult for faculty to cover all of the content in a physiology course. Given this constraint, recent efforts in the physiology teaching community, and in particular the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG), have promoted using core concepts to help students master key physiological principles. This report summarizes the experiences of four faculty members who teach physiology using the core concepts in various educational environments and identifies several common strengths and challenges they have encountered thus far. Strengths of using the core concepts include the transfer of knowledge to solve unknown problems and providing a framework to build a course. Challenges include applying them in a teach-taught course and balancing time spent on content and the core concepts. This is the first report to document the use of the physiology core concepts in a course, and the authors encourage additional faculty to not only adopt the core concepts for their own use, but share their approaches and experiences with the entire teaching community.The first curricular guidelines for undergraduate physiology programs, currently under development by the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG), outline learning outcomes applicable for a wide range of physiology and physiology-related programs with diverse student populations. These outcomes for knowledge of core physiological concepts, professional skills, and advising provide a standard for undergraduate physiology education and a benchmark for student learning. Evaluation of how programs meet the curricular guidelines and assessment of the impact of programmatic approaches on student learning are essential for programmatic improvement. The collection and dissemination of evaluation and assessment findings, facilitated by P-MIG, is a critical resource for established undergraduate physiology and physiology-related programs seeking to improve their learning outcomes and new programs developing their curriculum. Strategies for institutional evaluation and assessment are provided to outline possible approaches for programs to use the guidelines to improve or develop their curriculum. P-MIG member expertise and knowledge of curricular implementation provide the foundation for possible collaborations among organizations and institutions to develop a program consultation model, where external consultants provide evaluation and assessment guidance and feedback as an additional resource for physiology educators.Undergraduate education should help students build a deep, conceptual understanding of their discipline, not merely compel them to acquire factual knowledge. The core concepts for physiology (described in 2011), conceptual frameworks, and conceptual assessments are available to focus undergraduate physiology education on helping students understand and apply principles that govern and describe physiological processes. We review the context in which physiology core concepts were identified by a community of physiology educators. We explain the structure of conceptual frameworks and concept inventories and their benefit. We describe how core concepts have been used in physiology courses and departments, as communicated in publications, through presentations at physiology and biology education meetings, and within the Physiology Majors Interest Group (P-MIG). Finally, we share our recommendations and hopes for the next decade.