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), 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, Ashley Paul, Julianne Perretta, Katherine Senko, Sean Tackett, Scott Wright, Tony Zhu)

Featured This Month

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.

Featured

The Gist

• Commentary on creativity as central to medical practice.
• Argues that adaptive learning, managing uncertainty, and moral imagination require creative thinking.

Why This is a Must Read

There is often no single best option in medicine. Creative solutions are needed in everyday clinical practice, and this article offers suggestions for fostering clinical creativity in medical education.

The Gist

• Interviews of 29 leaders from a large U.S. academic medical center to understand perceived value from medical student education.
• Identified value in 5 domains: (1) individual relationships, (2) operational quality, (3) financial returns, (4) societal impacts, and (5) strategic alignment.

Why This is a Must Read

Medical schools invest substantial time and money in medical student education. This article highlights that the upfront financial costs may be justified by other positive influences of medical students.

The Gist

• Interviews of 72 healthcare workers from 13 professions to characterize the structures, processes, and outcomes of effective teamwork.
• Describes workplace and teammate factors that facilitate or impede multidisciplinary team function.

Why This is a Must Read

Teamwork is vital to patient care in complex health systems. The detailed frameworks in this article may guide research and educational programs to optimize team function.

The Gist

• Commentary based on piloting an AI scribe with 48 internal medicine residents.
• Recommends trainees show that they can write clinical notes without AI, receive teaching about AI scribe technology, and use AI documentation to prompt reflection and feedback.

Why This is a Must Read

AI is getting smarter all the time and rapidly moving into clinical practice. This article provides do’s and don’ts to ensure that AI facilitates learning rather than substitutes for it.

The Gist

• Randomized controlled trial of 186 clinical medical students to see if warning that AI can make mistakes would cause students to change their answers on case-based multiple-choice questions.
• The warning did not make a difference, although students did not switch their answers often.

Why This is a Must Read

Students and clinicians are likely to seek advice from AI even when AI may be incorrect. This study provides an example of research that can help us understand the implications of AI in medical education.

The Gist

• Interviews of 29 master clinical teachers from 11 specialties to understand how they developed their teaching skills.
• Keys included motivation to improve, seeking feedback and professional development opportunities, and being responsive to changes in learning needs and contexts.

Why This is a Must Read

Much has been written about what a great teacher is with less attention to how to become one. This article emphasizes that teaching is a learned skill with expertise developed through deliberate practice.