Rethinking Faculty Development as a Complex System for Integration in Basic Biomedical Sciences
Keywords:
methodological preparation; knowledge integration; basic biomedical sciences; communities of practice; medical education; cybernetic system.Abstract
Disciplinary fragmentation in the teaching of basic biomedical sciences persists as an obstacle to comprehensive medical education. This critical essay analyzes the limitations of traditional methodological preparation models, which, centered on individual and episodic updates, have proven insufficient to foster an authentic integration of knowledge. It is argued that this challenge demands a paradigm shift, moving towards a systemic, complex, and cybernetic approach. Based on a literature review, sociological foundations, such as communities of practice; psychological and neurobiological foundations, such as cognitive flexibility and collective self-regulation; and pedagogical foundations, such as collaborative instructional design, are examined. It is proposed that methodological preparation must be conceived as a self-regulated system, whose objective is not only to "train" teachers in isolation but to allow collective competencies and professional autonomy to emerge within the faculty. It is concluded that this approach has the potential to transform the teaching culture and guarantee the sustainability of curricular integration, although its successful implementation requires overcoming cultural and institutional barriers and developing new ways of evaluating collective performance.
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