Curriculum SCOPE Survey

Background

In 2023, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) collaborated to develop the Curriculum SCOPE (Structure, Content, Organization, Process and Evaluation) Survey. The Curriculum SCOPE Survey is a national survey the AAMC administers to both osteopathic and allopathic medical schools and aims to support AACOM’s and the AAMC’s missions and advocacy work, providing insights into strategic plans and evidence-based curriculum decisions.

The Curriculum SCOPE Survey primarily collects data on undergraduate medical education curriculum and was developed using several data collection sources. Two of which are applicable to the osteopathic medical community:

1. The Curriculum Inventory (CI) Program: The CI is a previous data collection of the AAMC, for which AACOM and the AAMC had a shared services agreement. Through this shared services agreement, up to 10 of AACOM’s member colleges of osteopathic medicine (COMs) participated. The CI collected primarily quantitative data such as counts of instructional methods; however, the AAMC-AACOM Curriculum SCOPE Survey reports data at a higher, often qualitative level, focusing on programmatic data more similar to how AACOM has annually collected and reported curriculum data via the AACOM Annual Osteopathic Medical School Questionnaire (Annual Survey).
   
2. The Annual Osteopathic Medical School Questionnaire (Annual Survey): The Annual Survey is administered to AACOM’s member COMs annually and used as a component of the AOA’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) review for accreditation. Annual Survey data are also used for reporting, research and strategic planning. The AACOM Annual Survey collects data on:
   
   • Admissions
   • Enrollment and Students
   • Graduates and GME Programs
   • Faculty and Academic Administrator Staff
   • Curriculum
   • Academic Software/Systems
   • Academic Support
   • Campus Climate
   • Student Financial Aid
   • Revenues and Expenditures
   • Contract and Grant Activity

AACOM Participation

In order to have a survey that offers valuable insights through data collection, reporting and analyses, as well as accurately reflects curricular programs at both osteopathic and allopathic schools, AACOM and the AAMC have identified individuals to assist in prioritizing curriculum areas and questions to be included on Curriculum SCOPE Surveys based on AACOM’s and the AAMC’s strategic goals, policy and advocacy initiatives and evolving healthcare needs.

The current SCOPE Curriculum Committee is comprised of approximately 30 members (including faculty and staff from AACOM and AAMC member institutions and other partner organizations) specializing in the following curriculum areas:

• Accreditation
• Data, reports and visualization
• Evaluation, continuous quality improvement (CQI) and benchmarking
• Instruction and assessment
• Mapping and management
• Research

To advance the goals of both AACOM and the AAMC and enhance the field of medical education, the Committee is divided into the following three subcommittees:

Curriculum Mapping and Management: This subcommittee identifies the current and future needs of medical education, thereby determining projects that best meet schools’ common mapping and management needs. Key roles include creating common resources such as instructional documents, short “how-to” videos, webinars and best practices.

Curriculum Survey Content and Form: This subcommittee ensures the survey aligns with AACOM’s and the AAMC’s goals to support member institutions in their evaluation, quality improvement and benchmarking efforts through providing guidance and feedback on the survey’s content, format, data use, reporting and scholarly activity.

Virtual Community Champions: This subcommittee serves as moderators of the virtual curriculum community, initiating and engaging in conversations and network building, in addition to creating and sharing resource bundles. Other key roles include welcoming new members and polling community members of the virtual community.

AACOM Curriculum SCOPE Committee Members

Natasha Bray, DO, MSEd, FACOI, FACP
Dean. Cherokee Nation Campus
Clinical Professor Rural Health
Associate Dean of Accreditation
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine - Tahlequah

Shafik Habal, MD
Assistant Dean for Curriculum Management and Reporting
Associate Professor of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Georgia Campus

Elizabeth K. “Lisa” McClain PHD, EdS, MPH, FNAOME
Associate Dean Academic Affairs
The Valley College of Osteopathic Medicine

Mahboob Qureshi, MD, MPH, PhD
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs & Assessment
Professor
California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Elizabeth Smith-Trigg, PhD, EdS, MS
Associate Dean, Assessment and Curricular Affairs
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Kirsten Waarala, DO, FACOI, FAODME
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Leslie Wimsatt, PhD, FNAOME
Associate Dean for Academic Assessment, Quality & Development
Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Reporting

The first reporting cycle for the Curriculum SCOPE Survey occurred June 2024. Medical schools that participated in the 2023 inaugural Curriculum SCOPE Survey received reports comprised of customized benchmarking analyses and de-identified medical school-level data, allowing each participating medical school to see how their curricular program compares with other medical schools at the national level. Additionally, participating schools received another update to these customized reports early July 2024. The most recent report, the SCOPE National Aggregate Statistics Report, was released late July 2024..

Data provided in these reports are intended to help medical schools make evidence-based decisions that will continuously enhance their curricula in order to equip students with versatile skills for serving diverse patient populations.

How is reporting determined?

Given this is a new, collaborative data collection with a substantial amount of data on both osteopathic and allopathic schools, reporting content has been prioritized by osteopathic and allopathic schools serving on the Curriculum SCOPE Committee and AACOM and AAMC staff.

Key Resources

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): This document covers common questions regarding the Curriculum SCOPE Survey. Inside, AACOM's member COMs will find sections specific to them, which provide background information on the intent behind this collaboration, the benefits of participating in the Curriculum SCOPE Survey and guidance on how to complete the Curriculum SCOPE Survey as a COM.

AACOM Question Map: This is a resource AACOM developed to assist AACOM’s member COMs in completing the 2022-23 Curriculum SCOPE Survey. This resource maps questions from the AACOM Annual Survey that correspond to the Curriculum SCOPE Survey.

Suggestion Box: Have suggestions or feedback? Submit them via the Suggestion Box and the Curriculum Committee will review your submission for consideration.

Informational Session: AACOM and the AAMC hosted an informational session specifically for COMs to discuss reporting from the inaugural Curriculum SCOPE Survey, as well as questions regarding the previous and future Curriculum SCOPE Surveys. The informational session's Q&A may be useful when learning more about the Curriculum SCOPE Survey.

For more resources and guidance on how to complete the AAMC-AACOM Curriculum SCOPE Survey, visit the SCOPE webpage, Curriculum Virtual Community and/or contact Aisha Ali.