The Institute of Medicine estimates that, on average, about one third of all healthcare waste is attributed to unnecessary services. High value care (HVC) is a proposed solution to this problem but is currently underrepresented in preclinical undergraduate medical education (UME). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a medical student-led course that introduced value-based principles to preclinical medical students. The course took place over two, four-hour days both in-person and virtually. Participants were first- and second-year medical students at an allopathic medical school. The educational course was an elective introduction to HVC. The curriculum goal was to provide foundational HVC knowledge and aid participants in applying the knowledge to improve attitude and clinical skills. The main outcome measures were self-efficacy integrating HVC into clinical practice, knowledge of HVC, and attitudes towards HVC. These measures were assessed pre- and post-course. Preclinical medical student’s knowledge of HVC principles, pro-HVC attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding HVC principles increased after course completion. The course provided resources and information individuals can use throughout their careers in medicine to progress towards a more value-based approach to patient care. Next steps include expanding HVC educational initiatives into preclinical longitudinal learning as part of the formal curriculum.
Artificial Intelligence tools have assumed an important role in medical education including assessment. Evidence supports its capabilities in automated grading/scoring processes in different types of written assessments. To estimate the level of agreement between scores given by the lecturers and GPT-5 for reflectively written portfolios by students for a formative assessment in professionalism in medical education. A proof-of-concept study was conducted to score 156 previously scored portfolios by lecturers with adherence to a rubric. Each portfolio was scored by GPT-5, using the same detailed rubric integrated into a structured prompt designed with a prompt engineering framework. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) showed ‘good’ level of agreement (ICC (A,1) = 0.816) between scores given by lecturers and GPT-5, with a strong linear association [Pearson r = 0.82 (p < 0.001) and Spearman ρ = 0.80 (p < 0.001)]. Same level of ICC agreement and strong linear association were observed for individual lecturer’s scores and corresponding GPT-5 scores. Also, ICC showed ‘excellent’ level of agreement (ICC (C,1) = 0.959) between scores given for the same portfolio by GPT-5 in three cycles, with ‘excellent’ internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.9862). GPT-5 demonstrated good agreement with lecturer’s scores and has potential for complementing the reflectively written assessment scoring process in medical education. Its capacity to further augment the scoring process with minimal human intervention should be further investigated.
Homophobia remains an important social and public health concern that may contribute to stigma, discrimination, and inequalities in healthcare. Gender perceptions and socially constructed gender roles may influence individuals’ attitudes toward sexual and gender diversity, potentially shaping homophobic attitudes. Nutrition and Dietetics, Nursing, First Aid and Emergency Care students, as future healthcare professionals, have an important role in promoting inclusive, equitable, and non-discriminatory healthcare practices. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between attitudes toward homophobia and gender perception among health education students. This cross-sectional study was carried out with health education students at Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University between October 2021 and May 2022. This study was conducted with 447 health education students. The study was analyzed with R programming 4.1.3 and SPSS-25 program. A significant negative correlation was found between students’ homophobia scale total score mean and gender perception scale total score mean (p < 0.05). The regression model developed to determine the effect of gender perception on homophobia level was found to be F = 88.50, p < 0.001, and 16
Effective ARDS care requires clinician knowledge, coordinated practice, and organizational support, yet continuing education is seldom aligned with measured deficits. Evidence integrating training exposure, knowledge, and institutional readiness among ICU physicians and nurses after the Global Definition remains limited. This study assessed ARDS-related knowledge, attitudes, self-reported practice, organizational readiness, barriers, training priorities, and exploratory differences by previous training modality. Single-center cross-sectional electronic survey conducted from April through June 2026 among physicians and registered nurses providing adult ICU care at a tertiary hospital in Ningxia, China. Participants formed a voluntary nonprobability sample. A study-specific questionnaire, developed through expert review and pilot testing but not formally validated, was scored on 0–100 scales. We compared professions, examined Spearman correlations, applied Benjamini–Hochberg correction to item-level comparisons, and used multivariable linear regression with heteroscedasticity-robust standard errors and ICU-unit fixed effects. Among 422 participants (142 physicians and 280 nurses), mean 0–100 scores were 64.9 (standard deviation [SD] 19.3) for knowledge, 77.4 (SD 9.9) for attitudes, 68.3 (SD 10.6) for practice, 61.3 (SD 13.5) for perceived organizational readiness, and 60.7 (SD 12.3) for perceived barriers. Attitudes exceeded knowledge by 12.5 points and perceived readiness by 16.1 points. The lowest correct-response proportions concerned the peripheral oxygen saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio (43.4
Pharmacology education wrestles with a stubborn challenge. Students can recite the mechanisms and indications of countless drugs, yet when they stand before a real patient, that declarative knowledge often fails to crystallize into a confident medication decision. The gap signals something deeper than insufficient practice. It points to a structural misalignment between two competing logics: the disciplinary logic that organizes curricula around neat drug categories, and the work logic that demands knowledge be mobilized flexibly around patient problems. This study pursued two interconnected aims. The first was to empirically test whether an AI-empowered work logic restructuring model could strengthen clinical decision-making competence in pharmacology education. The second, deeper aim was to uncover the mechanisms that explain why and how coupling AI with curriculum restructuring produces its effects. A four-group quasi-experimental design was implemented over two consecutive semesters at a higher vocational pharmacy college in China. The Full Intervention group (n = 42) experienced a curriculum rebuilt around typical medication tasks and supported by a full suite of AI tools. The AI-Only group (n = 40) used identical AI tools within a conventional drug-classification-based syllabus. The Curriculum-Only group (n = 41) followed the restructured curriculum without AI support. The Traditional Instruction group (n = 41) received standard case-based lectures. We assessed knowledge application through a standardized case analysis examination, class engagement via the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students, and learning experience with a custom satisfaction questionnaire. The Full Intervention group outperformed every other group across all outcome measures (all p < 0.001, η²p 0.17–0.26). Its mean knowledge application score reached 82.5 (SD = 6.3), compared with 70.2 (SD = 7.8) in the AI-Only group, 74.3 (SD = 7.1) in the Curriculum-Only group, and 65.8 (SD = 8.4) in the Traditional Instruction group. Crucially, the four groups performed comparably on factual recall items (p = 0.796), confirming that the intervention enhanced knowledge mobilization rather than mere retention. The Full Intervention group also posted markedly higher class engagement (M = 5.92 vs. 4.69, p < 0.001) and learning satisfaction (M = 4.51 vs. 3.52, p < 0.001). From these empirical patterns we distill the Context-Feedback-Visibility (CFV) Framework, which identifies three sequential mechanisms through which AI coupled with work-logic restructuring fosters clinical decision-making competence. Context endows knowledge with a value coordinate, anchoring it to the specific conditions under which a drug should be used or avoided. Feedback forges stable decision-making pathways through immediate, heuristic guidance that makes implicit reasoning explicit. Visibility transforms cognitive processes into objects that can be inspected, analyzed, and refined, fueling metacognitive growth. The progressive chain linking these mechanisms demonstrates that their coupling, rather than any single component alone, unlocks competence. The framework offers a generalizable diagnostic and design tool for AI-empowered curriculum reform across health professions education. ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN15993331. Registered on 23 June 2026. Retrospectively registered.
Transnational faculty development programs introduce educational approaches across institutional systems that differ in governance, resources, language, and professional roles. Existing research has described program outcomes and contextual barriers, but has provided less longitudinal evidence on how participants with different starting points reinterpret program learning before workplace implementation. This study examined how educators from Laos and Vietnam recontextualized learning during a South Korea-based faculty development program, including the role of horizontal peer comparison in that process. A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted within a bounded 10-week program cohort. The entire cohort of 12 health professions educators generated 168 pre-module and 167 post-module portfolio entries, together with two semi-structured interviews each. Template Analysis combined inductive coding with sensitizing concepts from faculty development and workplace learning. Participant-level longitudinal matrices compared heterogeneous starting points, changes and continuities, institutional conditions, positional authority, and transnational comparisons. Cross-case analysis examined variation by country, role, and prior faculty development experience. Participants entered with heterogeneous understandings. Some primarily associated teaching with lecturing and assessment, whereas others already had substantial experience of curriculum reform and organizational constraints. Three processes characterized recontextualization. First, program learning broadened or systematized educational frames by connecting classroom teaching with curriculum, assessment, accreditation, and institutional systems. Second, participants specified the conditions attached to particular practices, including preparation time, class size, facilitators, facilities, budget, workload, and faculty agreement. Third, they calibrated prospective action to their positional authority, describing changes they could make in their own teaching, changes requiring departmental support, and changes dependent on institutional or policy decisions. Interaction among participants from Laos and Vietnam also revised assumptions and provided regional reference points, although English sometimes constrained participation. Whole-cohort, module-level longitudinal data showed that faculty development learning was recontextualized through broadening, specifying, and calibrating from heterogeneous starting points. Horizontal comparison between Lao and Vietnamese participants provided an additional interpretive resource alongside host-home comparison. These processes offer a more differentiated account of pre-enactment learning in transnational faculty development, while remaining distinct from evidence of subsequent implementation or institutional change.
Interprofessional education must increasingly prepare health professions students to collaborate while using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) critically and responsibly. However, limited evidence explains how interprofessional student teams collectively evaluate and incorporate GenAI-generated information. This study described a GenAI-enabled cancer care module and explored teams’ experiences of using GenAI during collaborative care planning. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted within a cancer interprofessional education simulation module co-designed by two partner universities—one in Hong Kong and one in Mainland China—and delivered at the Hong Kong university. The module involved 316 students from six health-related disciplines, organised into 30 interprofessional teams. Teams first developed a cancer care plan without GenAI and subsequently used a GenAI tool of their choice to review and refine it. The activity explicitly required critical appraisal, contextual adaptation and collective approval of AI-supported content. All 30 teams consented to research use of their joint reflections. Twenty-seven records contained substantive reflective accounts, while three were marked “NIL.” The reflections were examined using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings indicated a form of critically engaged partnership between teams and GenAI. Students perceived GenAI as useful for widening the scope of care planning, identifying previously overlooked concerns and organising contributions from different professions. These perceived benefits depended on active team involvement, including formulating and refining prompts, checking outputs against clinical guidelines and disciplinary knowledge, and negotiating whether suggestions were appropriate for the care plan. Acceptance of GenAI was conditional, as teams identified risks related to accuracy, insufficient localisation, limited clinical detail and an inability to address emotional and relational aspects of care. Responsibility for final decisions remained with human professionals. In this module, students perceived GenAI as most useful when its outputs were treated as provisional contributions to collective deliberation rather than authoritative recommendations. GenAI-enabled interprofessional education should therefore incorporate unaided planning, shared scrutiny, verification and explicit professional accountability. As the findings were derived from brief team reflections from a single delivery site, they represent students’ negotiated perceptions and do not demonstrate improvements in reasoning, collaboration or care-plan quality.
Artificial intelligence-assisted systems are increasingly evaluated for automated assessment and individualized feedback in surgical education. However, randomized evidence is limited, and their benefit over conventional training, particularly expert instruction, remains uncertain. We searched PubMed, Embase.com, the Web of Science Core Collection, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and IEEE Xplore from inception to 6 August 2026, followed by backward and forward citation searching on 7 August 2026. Randomized studies of artificial intelligence-assisted training for operative technical skills were eligible. The primary outcome was overall technical skill performance. Effect estimates were expressed as Hedges’ g and pooled with a random-effects model. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, and certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Nine studies enrolled 588 participants, of whom 582 were analyzed; four studies contributing 154 participants entered the primary meta-analysis. The pooled standardized mean difference was 0.40 (95
The importance of biostatistics is well established, as evidenced by its integration in health-related training programs. However, consensus on core biostatistical competencies required across research profiles remains lacking, and attitudes towards biostatistics insufficiently explored. This study aimed to establish expert consensus on essential biostatistical knowledge and competencies for health researchers and identify key attitudes towards biostatistics. A Delphi study involved a multidisciplinary panel of 25 experts affiliated or collaborating with French-Speaking Belgian universities, including biostatisticians, health researchers, and psychometricians. A study-specific questionnaire was developed from literature and existing questionnaires encompassing biostatistical knowledge, competencies, and attitudes towards biostatistics. Across three rounds, panellists rated each item on a 7-point Likert scale and provided qualitative feedback. Consensus was defined as median score ≥ 6 and an interquartile range ≤ 1. Items were iteratively refined, added, or removed between rounds. Response stability between the first two rounds was assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Strong consensus was achieved for competencies related to fundamental biostatistical knowledge, interpretation, communication, and critical appraisal with a total of 64 out 71 items (90.1
Practice-based interprofessional education (IPE) can be complex to implement because it necessitates the interaction of different professions to achieve educational objectives in busy clinical settings. The aim of this project was to explore the experiences of practice tutors and clinical educators of facilitating practice-based IPE for health care students. Three focus groups were conducted in three teaching hospitals in Ireland. The focus group discussions were semi-structured. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and the data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. There were 22 participants in total from a range of health professions. Three themes were developed through analysis of the data: Workplace culture lays the foundation; Staffing matters; and Enhanced and authentic learning through clinical practice. The first theme demonstrated that the culture of the clinical site greatly impacts interprofessional collaboration and thus the value placed on practice-based IPE. The second theme highlighted that clinical educators face ongoing logistical barriers to implementing practice-based IPE. However, efforts have been made by clinical educators to overcome these barriers and develop strategies to implement IPE that are feasible in their workplace. Providing training for clinical educators in delivering practice-based IPE was not perceived to be a useful approach to improve delivery of practice-based IPE due to time pressures and existing high training demands for clinical educators. Instead, forming an interprofessional network of clinical educators was reported to be effective in helping to overcome logistical issues and in providing the support needed to successfully implement practice-based IPE. The final theme recognised that clinical placement provides an opportunity for enhanced learning in interprofessional collaboration and teamwork; however, participants noted that students may benefit from more classroom-based preparation on this topic before their clinical placement. Practice tutors and clinical educators face many challenges when trying to deliver and facilitate practice-based IPE. Developing IPE networks within teaching hospitals and providing resources that can be used in interprofessional tutorials may be helpful in setting up IPE programmes within the clinical education setting. Thus, fostering collaborative practice to improve outcomes for patients or clients and support more integrated networks of care.
Digital teaching competency among medical faculty is essential for promoting high-quality development in medical education. Although existing frameworks, such as the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators, have provided a foundation for research on teacher digital competency across disciplines and educational settings, they remain relatively limited in addressing clinical teaching contexts, patient privacy protection, medical ethics, and practice-oriented teaching responsibilities in medical education. This study aimed to develop a model that responds to educational digital transformation and reflects the dynamic development and progressive enhancement of digital teaching competency among medical faculty. A multi-stage mixed-methods design was used. Action research theory served as the meta-framework. Competency items were extracted through policy and literature analysis and semi-structured interviews to form an initial model. Two rounds of modified Delphi consultation were then conducted with 17 experts in medical teaching, clinical practice, and educational management to evaluate and revise the model. A total of 16 research articles, 8 policy documents, and interview data from 15 interview participants were included. The initial model comprised 4 first-level dimensions, 12 s-level indicators, and 48 third-level observation points. The expert response rate was 100
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for rapid and safe training strategies for healthcare professionals, particularly about vital procedures such donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE). Immersive virtual reality (IVR) has emerged as potential alternative to conventional training approaches. To evaluate healthcare professionals’ perceived effectiveness and acceptability of an IVR-based application for training in safe donning and doffing of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic in hospital and primary care settings. A quasi-experimental post-intervention study with a non-randomized control group and unequal group sizes was conducted in a university hospital and five primary care centers from January to December 2021. Healthcare professionals received either IVR-based training or video-based training. Outcomes were assessed using an ad hoc questionnaire measuring participants’ perceptions of safety and learning, usefulness and performance, satisfaction and experience, and usability. A total of 711 participants were included (644 in IVR group and 67 in video-based training group). Both modalities received favourable ratings (8.0 ± 1.8 to 9.6 ± 1). In the hospital setting, video-based training received significantly higher ratings than IVR in the Safety and Learning dimension (β = -2.6; 95
Gamified digital assessment combines interactive clinical cases, structured progression, and immediate feedback within the assessment process. This study compared immediate case-based performance and assessment experience outcomes between the EducaPlay gamified digital assessment package and traditional paper-based assessment in undergraduate nursing education. This multicenter quasi experimental study included 90 third year undergraduate nursing students from three nursing institutes. Students participated according to their existing classroom assignments in either the EducaPlay condition, with 45 students, or the traditional assessment condition, with 45 students. Individual randomization was not performed. Both conditions used the same pediatric cases, learning objectives, assessment content, and scoring criteria. EducaPlay combined tablet-based delivery, interactive clinical decisions, game elements, automated feedback, and instructor facilitated review. The traditional condition used paper-based cases, written assessment, and instructor led review. The primary outcome was the immediate post assessment case-based learning score. Secondary outcomes were changes from pre assessment to post assessment in satisfaction, perceived stress, motivation, and interaction with educational content. The primary outcome was analyzed using analysis of covariance adjusted for baseline satisfaction. Secondary outcome changes were compared using Mann Whitney U tests with Bonferroni correction. After adjustment for baseline satisfaction, the estimated mean case-based learning score was 89.20 in the EducaPlay condition and 69.07 in the traditional condition. The adjusted mean difference was 20.13 points, with a 95
It is not well known how recent changes to the residency match process have impacted geographic diversity among residency matches. This study uses the Obstetrics and Gynecology match to evaluate how the recent changes, such as starting virtual interviews and the implementation of program signaling, impacted geographic diversity of residency matches by assessing the rates at which students remained at their home medical schools or in their school’s state for training. Residency programs on “Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access” with a corresponding medical school were included. Medical schools of matched residents in 2020–2025 were identified and used to calculate concordance rates for residency. Program-level analysis allowed for structural evaluation of institutional patterns. Paired sample t-tests and repeated measures analysis assessed concordance changes over time. Cluster Analysis was used to identify subgroups by concordance patterns. Across 126 programs, concordance rates – percent of each OBGYN residency class that matched from the residency program’s home medical school and from a medical school in the program’s same state – remained relatively stable over the six match cycles. There was a significant drop and subsequent rebound in concordance observed between the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 cycles (p2022−23=0.03, p2023−24=0.003). Cluster analysis revealed two distinct subgroups, one with high and one with low concordance. Southern programs were more likely to have higher institution concordance rates while programs with more fellowships had lower state concordance rates. Although patterns of geographic concordance remained largely stable despite application reforms, program characteristics, such as region and fellowship offerings, were associated with concordance groups. Overall, findings suggest innovations in the application process may not significantly alter geographic diversity and equity outcomes.
Surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a leading cause of perioperative morbidity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including Nigeria. House officers routinely participate in theatre activities and wound care yet frequently commence internship without structured, competency-focused training in infection prevention and control (IPC). No published evidence from Northern Nigeria has evaluated IPC simulation training for this cadre. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a structured two-day surgical skills workshop on IPC knowledge and theatre safety confidence among house officers at a Northern Nigerian tertiary hospital. A quasi-experimental single-group pre-test/post-test study was conducted among 20 of 38 eligible house officers (participation rate 52.6
ChatGPT is a language model, developed by OpenAI, that uses contextual understanding that allows it to generate relevant responses based on current input and previous context. ChatGPT has infiltrated many fields, including medicine. As the demand for medical education tools is increasing, it is important to understand the potential patterns of use for ChatGPT as one of these tools. This research aims to explore the extent of using) among participating medical students in their learning journey between September 2024 and February 2025 and understand their perceptions of its utility and trustworthiness of the tool. A structured, researcher-designed questionnaire was developed to approach these questions. While ChatGPT was powered by both GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 during this timeframe, individual participant exposure to specific model versions or subscription tiers was not recorded. The questionnaire was distributed to medical students in both basic and clinical years in the Middle East North Africa (MENA). Analysis of the survey data was performed using SPSS (version 25), which revealed that 61.7
A digitally-literate and future-ready healthcare workforce is essential to realise the benefits of digital health and address critical healthcare challenges. Embedding digital health content into health degree curricula is a strategic priority, yet integration is hindered by the absence of standardised, professionally endorsed curriculum and limited educator expertise. Following development of an educator toolkit, this pilot evaluation study aimed to explore: “How do educators and academic leaders perceive the appropriateness, usability, usefulness and feasibility of a toolkit designed to support integration of digital health content into pre-registration health curricula?”. A multi-method study was conducted across 17 Australian universities. Data collection conducted with educators involved structured online survey responses (n = 53) using a semi-structured conversation guide in a meeting and, after updating the toolkit with educator feedback, 60-minute online focus groups were conducted with academic leaders (n = 14). Survey responses underwent content and sentiment analysis with manual coding aligned with a pre-defined coding framework, while focus group data were analysed using content analysis. Educators reported agreement that the toolkit was clear, well-structured, easy to navigate, and potentially effective in increasing their knowledge and confidence. Most statements rated positively for perceived appropriateness, usability, and usefulness. Statements with the highest agreement related to alignment between learning plans and outcomes (98
Medical students face a significant burden of depressive symptoms and social isolation, particularly in conflict-affected regions like Sudan, where access to formal mental health services is severely restricted. While AI chatbots are increasingly adopted for academic and emotional assistance, their relationship with psychological outcomes in such unstable, resource-constrained environments remains poorly characterized. This study aimed to evaluate the association between conversational AI utilization, depressive symptoms, and social isolation among Sudanese medical students to guide evidence-based policy and the responsible development of digital support tools. A large-scale, cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2025 and March 2026. Data were collected from 2,507 medical students using validated instruments, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for depressive symptoms and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale-6 (RULS-6) for social isolation. Structured questionnaires assessed sociodemographic characteristics, chatbot usage patterns, and perceived psychological benefits. Chatbot adoption was nearly universal, with 41.9
Vocational-technical teachers are essential in preparing students, but their understanding of neuroscience remains understudied. This study examined the prevalence of neuromyths and knowledge about the brain among 130 Brazilian vocational-technical teachers, along with influencing factors. Participants, with an average of 16.8 years of experience, responded to 32 statements (7 neuromyths, 25 neuroscience items). Results revealed 51.21
Interprofessional education is considered an important strategy for improving interprofessional collaboration in healthcare practice. The aim of the interEdu project was to develop a longitudinal core curriculum to strengthen interprofessional competencies in undergraduate nursing education. The study was conducted using a mixed methods design with qualitative and standardized interviews and evidence syntheses. The results were triangulated via joint displays and were discussed in an expert workshop. The curriculum was designed by the interprofessional project team based on these results. The interEdu curriculum comprises nine chapters. The central element is a framework of interprofessional competencies, which forms the basis of competence descriptions that are formulated over three years of nursing education. It has a spiral structure and offers modules and learning units based on the situational principle. In order to facilitate a transfer between the different learning venues, appropriate learning methods are recommended. These are learner-centered to support collaborative learning and self-directed learning. The interEdu curriculum will be used to longitudinally integrate interprofessional education into educational programs for nursing and other healthcare professions. In particular, the spiral structure and the interprofessional competencies formulated longitudinally over the whole undergraduate education cycle should contribute to the continuous development of competencies.
