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. Reviewers can earn CME credit and 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) to be notified when new must read articles are selected and sign up to receive an email each month.
(Current Reviewers: Kara Alcegueire, Paul Bain, Kavita Chapla, Scott Kinkade, Pranav Kotamraju, Viviane Liao, Erica Lin, Liju Mathew, Milad Memari, Pallavi Menon, Amin Nakhostin-Ansari, Ashley Paul, Julianne Perretta, Katherine Senko, Julia Shalen, Sean Tackett, Scott Wright)
Featured This Month

The Gist
• Suggests 3 strategies: (1) understand ableism as one of several dimensions of someone’s identity; (2) use the see-name-understand-act approach to address ableism in the workplace; and (3) prepare faculty to model and teach ableism-awareness.
Why This is a Must Read
Ableism, a belief that typical abilities are superior, is common in healthcare. This article provides well-organized, practical suggestions for addressing ableism and creating more inclusive learning environments.

The Gist
• Describes AI’s potential to address biases, knowledge gaps, and prognostic challenges and suggests priorities for medical education.
Why This is a Must Read
Healthcare is complex and uncertainty is inevitable. This article helps us understand AI’s strengths and limitations in handling uncertainty and provides ideas for designing educational programs.

The Gist
• Lectures had worse learning outcomes and student satisfaction in nearly every comparison.
Why This is a Must Read
Lectures are the bedrock of many medical education programs but often treat learners as passive recipients of information. This study supports limiting time in lecture in favor of active methods that make learning more efficient and enjoyable.
Featured

The Gist
• Suggestions for improvement mattered more than who was providing feedback or in what setting.
Why This is a Must Read

The Gist
• Performance on USMLE exams, clinical reasoning assessments, and ratings of milestones were similar.
Why This is a Must Read

The Gist
• Described 3 interconnecting aspects: (1) individuals noticing learning opportunities, (2) social support for individual development, and (3) influence of healthcare system cultures and divisions of labor.
Why This is a Must Read

The Gist
• Spaced repetition led to better retention after 18 months and performance on new items at 30 months.
Why This is a Must Read

The Gist
• Participants found a target article published by a biased source to be less credible after applying lateral reading.
Why This is a Must Read

The Gist
• Leaders struggled to balance the interests of learners, teachers, and the program when presented with highly critical comments.