Longitudinal Curricular Elements at HMS
At Harvard Medical School, we recognize that while some aspects of medical education are best taught in focused, specialized courses, many essential skills and areas of knowledge are most effectively learned when integrated throughout your medical training.
Our curriculum is thoughtfully designed to weave these key longitudinal elements—referred to as pillars of practice and frontiers of health care—across both classroom learning and clinical clerkships.
This approach ensures that you will continuously build and reinforce these foundational skills as you progress.
Pillars of Practice
These overarching approaches are vital for every physician:
- Health Equity
- Interprofessional Collaborative Care
Encompassing both clinical competencies and essential mindsets, they are intentionally embedded across the curriculum, rather than confined to a single course or rotation.
Frontiers of Health Care
Health care is constantly evolving. Our Frontiers of Health Care highlight the most current and relevant topics in medical practice:
- Aging and End-of-Life Care
- Climate Change, Environment, and Health
- Sexual and Gender Minority Health Care
- Substance Use and Pain Medicine
- Trauma-Informed Care
These areas, often underrepresented in traditional curricula, are prioritized and reviewed annually to ensure our program remains at the cutting edge of medicine.
By integrating these elements throughout your education, HMS prepares you to lead, adapt, and make an impact in any field or community you choose to serve.