The curriculum indexing database for stanford university school of medicine

The Curriculum Indexing Database (CID) was created to index the content of preclin‐ical courses on a session‐by‐session basis using a controlled vocabulary. A commercially available database software package, Filemaker Pro, allows the system to be set up, maintained, and utilized by individuals with little computer expertise and at reasonable expense. The development of the database vocabulary, consisting of 382 keywords in 20 possible categories, is discussed. A large free‐text field enables more specific content identification. Keywords from one or more fields can be designated for a search. A variety of report formats are available and custom reports can be created. CID provides an accurate curriculum inventory that has been useful in reducing redundancy and avoiding omissions, reviewing sequencing of material, planning vertical integration of special topics, and providing background information for the development or restructuring of courses. We are currently adding the required clinical curriculum to CID.