Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Launches New Educational Curriculum

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a top ranked medical school in the U.S.,  known for its strong culture of innovation and scholarship, is launching a re-envisioned curriculum for MD students.  The curriculum, named ASCEND, will aim to transform the acquisition of knowledge while retaining the school’s tradition of early immersion in scholarly opportunities. 

Icahn Mount Sinai, ranked No. 13 nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and among the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator, has established one of the most robust and expansive training and research footprints in the nation. The ASCEND curriculum builds on this legacy of clinical excellence and research discovery.  

Rainier P. Soriano, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at Icahn Mount Sinai, emphasizes the proactive nature of ASCEND: “ASCEND is designed to navigate the abundance of information available, teaching students to discern and absorb what’s crucial at the moment it’s needed most. Students become active partners in their education journey and are encouraged to dive deep in their learning experiences.”  

ASCEND commences with BaseCamp, an introductory week of acclimation and immersion, followed by a foundational module that lays down essential scientific and clinical skills. The curriculum then advances to organ systems-based blocks, offering a comprehensive exploration of the human body and its functions. “This sequential learning enhances students’ understanding of how body systems interconnect and function cohesively, and the impact when they do not,” adds Dr. Soriano.  

Central to ASCEND are areas of curricular concentration designed to augment the core curriculum with a focus on the following: scientific and scholarly discovery; advocacy, social justice, and anti-oppression; health care delivery science; and, leadership and professional identity formation.  

A cornerstone of ASCEND is the rapid integration of students into scholarly activities, offering them the opportunity to engage in research and scholarship early in their education. “Introducing students to scholarship early on equips them with a crucial understanding of how academic research and clinical practice intertwine, enriching their learning experience and laying a strong foundation for their professional and career development,” Dr. Soriano elaborates.  

Notably, ASCEND’s Practice of Medicine module introduces students to longitudinal clinical mentorship from the outset, ensuring the development of clinical competence over the four years of medical education. “This initiative is about more than just knowledge transfer; it’s about fostering a profound, lasting grasp of medical practice. ASCEND ensures continuous clinical mentorship, supporting students’ growth and competency development from day one,” says Dr. Soriano.  

Dr. Soriano contrasts his medical school experience with ASCEND’s approach to mentorship: “Reflecting on my experience, relationships with my teachers were transient. ASCEND changes that by assigning a dedicated mentor to each student right from the start, fostering a lasting and meaningful clinical mentor-mentee relationship that enhances the learning experience in which our faculty mentors can actually grow with their students. And in this way the partnership becomes that much more powerful.” 

David C. Thomas, MD, MS, MHPE, Dean for Medical Education and Chair of the Department of Medical Education, agrees. “The ASCEND curriculum has been embraced within the Mount Sinai community as a vehicle to propel the school’s highest of standards for teaching and learning, scholarship, innovation, mentorship, collaboration, and professionalism—and it builds on the institution’s legacy of social justice and service to the East Harlem community.”  

To learn more about ASCEND, visit https://icahn.mssm.edu/education/medical/program