AWOME – The M1 class at the Feinberg School of Medicine has been very outspoken regarding the new curriculum, or “FSM 3.0.” While there are certainly many advantages, increased clinical exposure for one, students have not been shy in pointing out areas that may need improvement.

“We’ve received a lot of feedback,” one member of the Augusta Webster Office of Medical Education told The Flipside. “Some of it constructive, some of it not so much.”

Initially, the administration was hesitant to make changes to their newly updated curriculum. However, recent complaints regarding post-exam review policies have swayed the administration to reevaluate FSM 3.0.

“We’re scrapping the new curriculum entirely,” Dean Fredrickson explained to The Flipside via email. “We were tired of getting emails from the M1s who were questioning our judgment. It’s time to try ‘Plan B.’”

Effective immediately, the curriculum will be replaced with a single concept map.

“We were really impressed by the student concept maps from the first block of PBL,” Dean Fredrickson wrote. “They seemed to really enjoy putting them together and we already know how useful concepts maps can be for retaining and later applying knowledge.”

The “all concept map” curriculum will still have the same number of class hours in a week, but will consist almost entirely of PBL. Each small group will be assigned one section of the curriculum to contribute to the master concept map. Anatomy lab will still take place, but only to “dissect” the intricacies, inevitable repetitions, and bad handwriting of said concept map. Once it’s completed, the students can stare at it for hours on end until Step 1.

One PBL instructor was extremely excited about the change. “This is the greatest thing to happen to medical education since EMERG.”

Several “gunners” have already prepared ways to excel at concept mapping. Sally Hunterburger plans to make hers in 3D, while Jim Jamestown thinks he found a way to make a concept map within a concept map.

“Concept map inception…BWWWAAAA,” was Jamestown’s only comment.

When asked what he thought the students reactions to the change would be, Dean Fredrickson replied, “I don’t know, but I can tell you that they’ll find a way to complain about it.”