ASCEND (2024 onward)

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is proud to unveil ASCEND, a re-envisioned curriculum that builds on the foundation of its educational structure. ASCEND introduces a personalized and active-learning approach aimed to transform the way knowledge and clinical experiences are acquired. ASCEND embodies our commitment to elevate medical education, fostering the next generation of health care leaders through innovation, holistic development, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

ASCEND represents a multi-year collaboration of stakeholders across the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, including students, deans, department chairs, educators, staff, and administration. As ASCEND formally launches with incoming students in the Fall of 2024, the Office of Curricular Affairs will continue providing updates and gathering feedback to further improve the rollout process.

Students begin their MD journey at the School with the Pre-Clerkship Phase, immersing themselves in the learning environment and understanding its integral role within the broader Mount Sinai Health System. During this phase, students also acquire foundational knowledge and skills essential for the practice of medicine, laying robust groundwork for their clinical and professional development. They soon engage in hands-on clinical experiences during the Clerkship Phase. The final phase, Integration and Transitions, allows students to tailor their education, exploring specialties and preparing for post-graduate training.

Throughout all phases of the ASCEND program, essential themes are integrated into the curriculum to develop critical skills for twenty-first century physicians and to serve as focal areas of curricular concentration:

• Scientific and Scholarly Discovery: This area focuses on the knowledge and skills that future physicians need to engage in evidence-based medicine, evaluate innovations and discoveries in health care, and ultimately improve patient care. This curricular concentration encompasses several topics, including research methodology, biostatistics, augmented intelligence, evaluation of health science literature, and evidence-based medicine.

• Patient centered advocacy: This area focuses on equipping students with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to support patients in navigating healthcare challenges, participate in shared decision-making, and address structural factors that influence health outcomes. This concentration reinforces physician-led advocacy in clinical settings, ensuring students are prepared to work within healthcare systems to improve patient care.

• Health care Delivery Science: This area prepares future physicians to be effective health care professionals who can work within complex health care systems, promote patient safety and quality improvement, and collaborate with other health care professionals.

• Leadership and Professional Identity Formation: This thread is focused on teaching students how to assume leadership and professional roles that prioritize shared obligations and expectations while valuing interprofessional relationships.