Must Reads

What is a ‘Must Read’ for those interested in medical education?

Each month, we identify 3-4 noteworthy articles from the health professions education literature and label them as “must reads.” Selection is based on several criteria including originality and methodological rigor. Our process includes a formal search of the peer-reviewed literature, screening titles and abstracts, full text review, and an editorial meeting to achieve consensus.

Who are we and why are we doing this?

Our reviewers include individuals with expertise in teaching, educational oversight, and research as well as those who are beginning their careers as educational scholars.

The volume of health professions education articles has become overwhelming. In curating some of the best new published papers, we hope to make it easier for all of us to keep abreast of cutting edge educational scholarship and practices.

We’d welcome involvement in the selection process. This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ so reviewers can earn CME credit. They can also contribute to Must Reads research. If you are interested in supporting this work or have perspectives to share, please email Sean Tackett: stacket1@jhmi.edu.

You can also follow @MedEdMustReads on X (aka Twitter), follow the must reads page on LinkedIn, and/or sign up to receive an email each month if you want to be updated on new must reads selections.

(Current Reviewers: Mohammad Aldalou, Syed Muhammad Ali, Paul Bain, Elie Dargham, Suni Ebby, Mohammad Kabakibi, Anisha Kshetrapal, Liju Mathew, Amin Nakhostin-Ansari, Aditi Narsinghpura, Ashley Paul, Julianne Perretta, Katherine Senko, Sean Tackett, Scott Wright, Tony Zhu)

Featured This Month

The Gist

• Commentary that challenges conventional ideas about high-stakes testing.
• Contends that no assessment is strictly formative or summative and that the scope, timeline, and justifications given for assessments need to broaden to align with healthcare needs.

Why This is a Must Read

Healthcare is complex and continuously changing, but high-stakes tests can be rigid, narrow, and potentially counterproductive. This article proposes new ways of thinking about assessment systems so they promote learning throughout education and practice.

The Gist

• Innovation report randomizing internal medicine teams to use a comic book (vs. usual practice) for orientation to bedside patient presentations.
• Attending physicians liked using comics, and learners’ confidence in bedside rounding increased.

Why This is a Must Read

Bedside presentations can benefit patients and clinicians but are not always done. This article shares a creative and feasible way to make bedside rounding more approachable and may inspire similar interventions.

The Gist

• Tips for institutions to implement program level assessment.
• Proposes ways to diagnose institutional readiness, plan implementation, and sustain changes based on Organizational Readiness Theory.

Why This is a Must Read

Educational assessments should be coordinated throughout a program to support feedback and demonstrate learner achievements, but instead assessments are often fragmented. This article suggests strategies to overcome barriers and to make and maintain changes that add value to learning.

Featured

The Gist

• Commentary on “never-skilling” – the failure to develop competency and the erosion of metacognitive skills – that can occur with AI over-reliance.
• Summarizes what’s known, suggests gradual AI integration to maintain cognitive friction, and proposes a research agenda.

Why This is a Must Read

Never-skilling may be the greatest threat that AI poses to medical education. This article provides a robust overview and several frameworks that can guide educational program design and research.

The Gist

• Interviews of 23 supervising physicians on how they use stress to improve learning.
• Describes 6 elements as (1) setting clear expectations; (2) assessing baseline stress; (3) introducing, (4) monitoring, and (5) modifying stressors; and (6) debriefing.

Why This is a Must Read

Finding the stress sweet spot - where it motivates and challenges learners rather than exhausting or demoralizing them - is not easy to do. This article provides a framework that can help clinical educators optimize stress for learning purposes.

The Gist

• Tips to enhance interprofessional learning based on the Landscapes of Practice theory.
• Provides actionable steps for medical trainees, supervising physicians, other health professionals, and program leaders.

Why This is a Must Read

Teamwork is essential to clinical practice, but interprofessional learning remains challenging. This article’s practical advice could enhance interprofessional understanding and performance.

The Gist

• Interviews of 16 emergency medicine residents to understand how they deal with supervisor changes to their clinical plans.
• Trainees (1) avoided proposing an independent plan by anticipating supervisor preferences, (2) assumed reasons for supervisor changes, or (3) asked for explanations.

Why This is a Must Read

There are often many good ways to handle a clinical situation, and much can be learned from exploring clinical grey zones. This article reminds us to openly discuss decision-making, and it provides tips to use in practice.

The Gist

• Randomized controlled trial of 72 surgery residents solving 8 clinical cases when given AI with no guidance vs. AI with the ABCD framework (A=articulate clinical information; B=brainstorm/benchmark management options; C=critique AI responses and customize to specific patient contexts; D=decide on recommendations and discuss with patients).
• The ABCD intervention group had greater AI self-efficacy and clinical decision quality.

Why This is a Must Read

AI is everywhere now, but there are few systematic approaches for using AI in medical education and practice. This article provides evidence for a framework that has promise for use in other programs.

The Gist

• Interviews of 16 residents from 7 programs to understand the relationship between feedback and gossip (i.e., evaluative talk about someone who is not present).
• Gossip could lead to formal feedback, help make sense of feedback that was received, or serve as feedback.

Why This is a Must Read

Talking about others when they’re not around can generate helpful perspectives. This article highlights that gossip should not remain hidden but be applied constructively to improve learning and performance.