How the medical curriculum is shifting towards general practice

Congratulations to Nandakumar Ravichandran and his colleagues, under the supervision of Professor Walter Cullen, for their important paper highlighting how the medical curriculum is shifting towards general practice. This is a timely and relevant contribution as medical schools worldwide increasingly embed GP-oriented training to meet evolving needs in community-based, patient-centred care.

The paper is titled, ‘General practice / family medicine: evolving undergraduate medical curricula – A narrative review and discussion paper’.

UCD School of Medicine paper authors:

Mr Nandakumar Ravichandran 
Dr Crea Carberry
Assistant Professor Julia Cameron-Vendrig 
Assistant Professor Niamh Murphy
Assistant Professor Nia Clendennen
Assistant Professor Sheila Loughman 
Mr John Broughan 
Professor Walter Cullen

Purpose

General practice or family medicine has evolved into a cornerstone discipline in undergraduate medical education, reflecting the rising demand for community-based, patient-centred care. This narrative review explores current general practice curriculum models globally and identifies practical strategies for developing and updating curricula to meet evolving healthcare needs.

Design/methodology/approach

A comprehensive search across PubMed, Scopus, ERIC and Google Scholar was conducted, adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines for article selection and assessment, to identify core themes, educational principles and innovative approaches to curriculum design and delivery in general practice education from 2005 to 2025.

Findings

Of the 700 articles identified, 42 articles included in the final analysis. The review identified five key themes in current general practice curricula: (1) Core competencies (patient-centred care, problem-solving, holistic care and interprofessional collaboration), (2) Targeted regional needs (rural health, marginalised populations and climate health), (3) Clinical placements (early exposure and community-based placements), (4) Educational strategies (blended learning, case-based and interprofessional education) and (5) Teaching and student support (faculty development, infrastructure and student services).

Practical implications

This is particularly timely as medical schools globally are currently undertaking curriculum reviews with a stronger focus on general practice.

Originality/value

This narrative review highlights essential elements for responsive, evidence-informed general practice curricula and suggests ways clinical educators can align teaching practices with evolving community health priorities. Ensuring structured clinical placements and addressing underserved populations are critical to preparing future ready general practitioners.

(opens in a new window)Link to the online paper.