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OBJECTIVES As the medical profession continues to change, so do the educational methods by which medical students are taught. Various authors have acknowledged the need for alternative teaching and learning strategies that will enable medical students to retain vast amounts of information, integrate critical thinking skills and solve a range of complex clinical problems. Previous research has indicated that concept maps may be one such teaching and learning strategy. This article aims to: (i) review the current research on concept maps as a potential pedagogical approach to medical student learning, and (ii) discuss implications for medical student teaching and learning, as well as directions for future research.METHODS The literature included in this review was obtained by searching library databases including ACADEMIC SEARCH, ERIC, EBSCOHost, PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, PubMed ⁄ MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE. This literature review is a summary of both conceptual and empirically published literature on the uses of concept mapping in medical education. RESULTSThe 35 studies reviewed here indicate that concept maps function in four main ways: (i) by promoting meaningful learning; (ii) by providing an additional resource for learning; (iii) by enabling instructors to provide feedback to students, and (iv) by conducting assessment of learning and performance.CONCLUSIONS This review provides ideas for medical school faculty staff on the use of concept maps in teaching and learning. Strategies such as fostering critical thinking and clinical reasoning, incorporating concept mapping within problem-based learning, and using concept mapping in group and collaborative learning are identified. New developments in medical education include the use of serial concept maps, concept maps as a methodology to assist learners with lower cognitive competence, and the combination of group concept maps with structured feedback.

Introduction: In the Ottawa 2018 Consensus framework for good assessment, a set of criteria was presented for systems of assessment. Currently, programmatic assessment is being established in an increasing number of programmes. In this Ottawa 2020 consensus statement for programmatic assessment insights from practice and research are used to define the principles of programmatic assessment. Methods: For fifteen programmes in health professions education affiliated with members of an expert group (n ¼ 20), an inventory was completed for the perceived components, rationale, and importance of a programmatic assessment design. Input from attendees of a programmatic assessment workshop and symposium at the 2020 Ottawa conference was included. The outcome is discussed in concurrence with current theory and research. Results and discussion: Twelve principles are presented that are considered as important and recognisable facets of programmatic assessment. Overall these principles were used in the curriculum and assessment design, albeit with a range of approaches and rigor, suggesting that programmatic assessment is an achievable education and assessment model, embedded both in practice and research. Knowledge on and sharing how programmatic assessment is being operationalized may help support educators charting their own implementation journey of programmatic assessment in their respective programmes.

Physicians frequently are early adopters of healthy behaviors based on their knowledge and economic resources. The mortality patterns of physicians in the United States, particularly suicide, have not been rigorously described for over a decade. Previous studies have shown lower all-cause mortality among physicians yet reported conflicting results about cause-specific mortality such as suicide. In this study, we compared all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a sample of physicians to the age-gender matched general U.S. population from 1948 through 1998. We also compared the mortality experience across medical specialties. The risk of all-cause mortality was 56% lower than expected in men, and 26% lower in women, compared to the general population. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were markedly lower for diseases strongly linked to smoking, e.g., cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and lung cancer. Suicide was the only cause of death where risk was greater than the general population. Overall, we found that physicians are at substantially lower risk of dying compared to the general population for all causes of death except suicide. The findings for suicide are strikingly different than other causes of death and should provide impetus for new research on the mental health of physicians.

A PDA-based mini-CEX is a feasible tool to facilitate the direct observation of students' clinical skills. The PDA-based mini-CEX was highly rated by students and evaluators as a valuable technology-based tool to document direct supervision of clinical skills.

Aspects of feedback, giving mini-lectures, and learning test-interpretation skills were the learning and feedback activities associated with students' perceptions of high-quality teaching. In an increasingly time-pressured inpatient environment, clinical educators should understand which activities students value.

A majority of clerkship directors report that grade inflation still exists. In addition, many note students who passed despite the clerkship director believing they should have failed. Interventions should be developed to address both of these problems.

We describe different types of concept maps based on learners’ task, and how they can be utilized in different educational settings. We provide ideas for educators to integrate this novel educational resource in their teaching and educational practices. Medical educators can utilize concept maps to detect students’ misunderstandings of concepts and to identify knowledge gaps that need to be corrected. Finally, we outline the potential role of concept maps as an assessment tool.