Double helix curriculum as an innovative model of medical education: theoretical reflections and practical analysis of the advantages of an integrated approach

Yashkina, T.O. (2025) Double helix curriculum as an innovative model of medical education: theoretical reflections and practical analysis of the advantages of an integrated approach. Перспективи та інновації науки. Серія "Педагогика". Серія "Психологія". Серія "Медицина" (8(54)). pp. 2015-2023. ISSN 2786-4952

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Abstract

The article explores the Double Helix Curriculum (DHC) as an innovative model of medical education designed to ensure the equal and continuous integration of biomedical and humanitarian components throughout all stages of physician training. It substantiates the relevance of implementing DHC in the context of contemporary healthcare challenges, which require physicians to possess not only advanced scientific knowledge but also developed clinical reasoning, interdisciplinary collaboration skills, ethical reflection, and communication abilities within complex sociocultural environments. Drawing on international experience from institutions such as the University of Michigan, UCSF, and the University of Toronto, the author outlines the model’s two intertwined “strands”: the scientific strand (covering basic and clinical sciences) and the humanitarian strand (encompassing medical ethics, communication, social determinants of health, self-reflection, and narrative medicine). The article emphasizes that, within DHC, professional identity is cultivated systematically rather than incidentally, through students’ engagement in communities of practice, narrative modeling of clinical cases, facilitated reflection, and integrated learning scenarios. A comparative analysis with other educational approaches (Spiral Curriculum, CaseBased Learning, Vertically Integrated Curriculum, Problem-Based Learning,Competency-Based Medical Education) demonstrates DHC’s unique capacity to merge cognitive and value-based competencies. The paper also examines opportunities for adopting DHC in Ukrainian medical education, identifying potential barriers such as curriculum inertia, insufficient faculty preparation for interdisciplinary teaching, and lack of validated tools to assess humanitarian competencies, as well as suggesting strategies to address them. The author concludes that DHC promotes the harmonization of Ukrainian medical education with European standards and fosters the development of a holistic new-generation physician who combines scientific rigor with professional empathy and humanistic values.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	DOI: 10.52058/2786-4952-2025-8(54)-2015-202
Uncontrolled Keywords:	medical education, Double Helix Curriculum, professional identity,integrated learning, reflection, narrative medicine
Subjects:	Family Medicine
Divisions:	Departments > Department of Internal Medicine
Depositing User:	Аліна Чеботарьова
Date Deposited:	22 Sep 2025 09:49
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2025 09:49
URI:	http://repo.dma.dp.ua/id/eprint/9604

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