Teaching, learning, and assessment of law on medical students' cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: It is necessary to improve medical students' legal cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills to prevent further legal issues in the medical profession. Choosing the proper teaching and assessment methods is very crucial in this matter. This study aimed to investigate teaching, learning, and assessment of law on medical students' legal cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills. Methods: We conducted a systematic study in PubMed, Embass, Web of Science databases, and Google Scholar search engine using MECIR and PRISMA, AMEE Guide 94 for 1980 to 2022.12.30. Nineteen articles met the inclusion criteria. “The MERSQI checklist” was used to assess the quality of the articles and “the URSEC” (the theoretical underpinning of the development, the resources required, the setting, the educational methods employed, and the content) was used to assess the risk of educational bias. Results: Internships courses called Medical Education Humanities and Society (MESH), clinical scenario design, seminars and small group discussions, web-based interactive training, law training courses, PBL, and mind maps were used to improve the medical law knowledge in medical students. MESH clerkship, simulation of a legal event, medico-legal advocacy program based on inter-disciplinary education, group discussion, integration, and court-based learning were used to improve students’ attitude. Multidisciplinary training, small group discussions after the seminar, mock trial competition, and interdisciplinary education were used to teach the psychomotor skills. Except for one study in the field of knowledge, all other studies reported law education to be effective on the students' knowledge, attitude, and legal performance. All assessments of cognitive and affective were written, but the OSCE, the simulated court, and the review of patient referrals were used to assess performance. Conclusion: There are few studies to examine the cognitive, affective, and legal psychomotor skills of medical students. The texts have not yet fully explored the high level of affective and psychomotor domains, which is evident of a gap in this sector. It is vital to acknowledge that these problems can be prevented with proper education and evaluation. It is recommended for terms of ‘research’ and ‘effective educational policies’ to be considered and adopted in this field.