Unpacking and validating the integration core concept of physiology by an Australian team

Consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology using the Delphi method, including integration, outlined by the descriptor cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems interact to create and sustain life. This core concept was unpacked by a team of 3 Australian physiology educators into hierarchical levels, identifying 5 themes and 10 subthemes, up to 1 level deep. The unpacked core concept was then circulated among 23 experienced physiology educators for comments and to rate both level of im-portance and level of difficulty for each theme and subtheme. Data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA to compare between and within themes. The main theme (theme 1: the body is organized within a hierarchy of structures, from atoms to molecules, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems) was almost universally rated as Essential. Interestingly, the main theme was also rated between Slightly Difficult to Not Difficult, which was significantly different from all other subthemes. There were two separate subsets of themes in relation to importance, with three themes rating between Essential and Important and the two other themes rating as Important. Two subsets in the difficulty of the main themes were also identified. While many core concepts can be taught concur-rently, Integration requires the application of prior knowledge, with the expectation that learners should be able to apply concepts from cell-cell communication, homeostasis, and structure and function, before understanding the overall Integration core con-cept. As such, themes from the Integration core concept should be taught within the endmost semesters of a Physiology program. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This article proposes the inclusion of a core concept regarding integration into physiology-based cur-ricula, with the descriptor cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems interact to create and sustain life. This concept expands prior knowledge and applies physiological understanding to real-world scenarios and introduces contexts such as medications, diseases, and aging to the student learning experience. To comprehend the topics within the Integration core concept, students will need to apply learned material from earlier semesters.

Automated summary

Using the Delphi method, consensus was reached on seven core concepts of physiology, including the integration concept of cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems interacting to create and sustain life. A team of Australian physiology educators unpacked this core concept into hierarchical levels, identifying five themes and ten subthemes. The importance and difficulty levels of each theme and subtheme were rated by experienced physiology educators. The main theme of hierarchy was rated as essential and slightly difficult, while the other subthemes differed in importance and difficulty. Integration core concepts should be taught in the later semesters of a Physiology program.