Integration of Basic Biomedical Sciences in Cuban Medical Education
Keywords:
biomedical basic sciences; curriculum integration; medical educationAbstract
Introduction: The integration of basic biomedical sciences with clinical sciences and medical humanities is imperative in medical training. In Cuba, this process goes through various curricular models with a humanistic emphasis. The objective is to analyze the scientific evidence on the models, results, and challenges of this integration in the Cuban medical curriculum and its international dialogue.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA 2020. Studies from SciELO Cuba, Cumed, Lilacs, and Scopus from the last 16 years were included. Of 185 records, 14 met the eligibility criteria. Boolean operators and the PICO model were used. This study is part of the project Pedagogical Strategy for Integration in the Biological Bases of Medicine discipline at the University of Medical Sciences of Camagüey.
Results: Four integration models are identified: intra-basic, basic-clinical, Comprehensive General Medicine, and basic-humanistic. Strengths include greater student motivation, strengthened clinical reasoning, and the consolidation of health as a social product. Challenges persist, such as knowledge fragmentation, insufficient pedagogical preparation, and the contradiction between hyperspecialization and humanistic integration.
Discussion: Theoretical studies with few evaluative designs predominate. Integration in Cuba constitutes a dialectical process where the humanistic dimension emerges as an essential articulating axis, without always permeating educational practice. Basic-humanistic integration represents the least empirically documented node and a pedagogical debt of the Cuban medical curriculum.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Tania Díaz González, Carlos Díaz Barranco, Miriela Betancourt Valladares, Lida Cabanes Flores
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