Objectives: Medical school faculty and students actively engaged in curriculum reform often experience angst. Change management literature emphasizes that grounding change in common values is critical to managing stakeholder angst and ultimately successful change. However the literature provides only limited descriptions of the shared underlying features as perceived by faculty and students associated with curriculum reform. This study sought to bridge this gap by identifying the underlying student and faculty beliefs associated with success in medical student education programs and reform. Methods: A qualitative study approach using an appreciative inquiry interview methodology was selected given its proven success as an inquiry technique for change management. To identify cross-cutting curriculum success tenets, a purposeful sample of 24 stakeholders participating in an established curriculum and/or new integrated curriculum were selected: 12 students and 12 faculty seven of whom were curriculum/college leaders. Two rounds of appreciative inquiry interviews focusing on successes associated with medical student education were conducted. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, coded, and then analyzed to delineate common themes and cross-cutting tenets using constant comparative methodology. Results: Analysis revealed six underlying themes associated with success for students and faculty: engagement of students and faculty in education, sense of community and collaboration, faculty/student relationships, active learning, faculty excitement/willingness to teach leads to impactful student learning, and identity/professional formation. Conclusions: The identified tenets associated with successful medical student education programs can be used to manage a critical element of curriculum form: stakeholder change angst.