A Multidisciplinary ICU Clerkship Curriculum Incorporating Simulation and Competency-Based Education: Design, Implementation, and Early Outcomes

Physiotherapy students’ experiential learning through curriculum-integrated high-complexity simulation: a qualitative study

Developing both technical and non-technical competencies is a core goal in physiotherapy education. While traditional clinical placements offer essential hands-on experience, they may not fully prepare students for the complexity and unpredictability of real-world clinical practice. Simulation-based education (SBE) can help bridge this gap by providing a safe, realistic, and structured learning environment. To explore undergraduate physiotherapy (PT) students’ experiences of curriculum-integrated high-complexity SBE, through the lens of experiential learning theory. Qualitative descriptive study. Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellbeing, University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia, Spain. Twenty-eight undergraduate PT students from the second, third, and fourth academic years (fourth, sixth, and eighth semesters, respectively) participated in six focus groups conducted between June and October 2024. Participants were purposively sampled to ensure diversity in academic year and simulation roles (PT or observer). High-complexity simulation sessions embedded in the PT curriculum, involving trained simulated patients and structured facilitation. Students’ experiences of learning processes during SBE. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and later interpreted in relation to experiential learning theory. ATLAS.ti software was used to support data management. Transcripts were returned to participants for member checking. Two overarching themes emerged: (1) Constructing non-technical skills through action , observation , and reflection , and (2) Experiencing safety and immersion . Students valued both performing and observing roles, reporting that observation fostered reflection, vicarious learning, and reduced performance anxiety. Structured debriefings, progressive exposure, and peer feedback reinforced learning, while facilitators’ guidance and psychological safety promoted confidence. The use of simulated patients enhanced emotional immersion and authenticity, and students highlighted their potential role in feedback. High-complexity SBE was perceived as a meaningful and situated learning experience that supported reflection, knowledge integration, and application, contributing to the development of non-technical skills and confidence. NCT06852482 (clinicaltrials.gov).

Systems thinking as the integrative competency in undergraduate Family Medicine education: a cross-sectional evaluation of an integrated primary care block

Background Family Medicine and Primary Health Care anchor effective health systems, yet undergraduate curricula have given them limited dedicated space. The COM353 Family Medicine and Primary Care block at Alfaisal University was created to give these areas more dedicated curricular space, combining didactic teaching, Primary Health Care Center (PHCC) visits, structured reflection, and explicit engagement with clinical uncertainty. Methods We conducted a single-institution, cross-sectional quantitative evaluation of third-year medical students who completed the block in January 2026. A 42-item Likert instrument, adapted from the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) and the Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS) with block-specific items, captured perceptions across seven domains. Of 126 enrolled students, 96 responded (76.2%). Analyses included descriptive statistics, internal-consistency reliability, inter-domain correlations, and multiple linear regression. Reporting follows the STROBE guideline. Results Domain means ranged from 3.90 to 4.27 (of 5), with all domains exceeding the scale midpoint by large margins (Cohen’s d, 0.92 to 1.58). Agreement rates ran from 63.7 to 80.7%. Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.988 overall; 0.940 to 0.974 across domains). Family Medicine and PHC Competencies achieved the highest mean (4.27) and reflective practice the lowest (3.90). On a single global rating, 87.5% of students rated the block positively (mean 3.80, SD 1.13). Multiple regression with six domains predicting perceived block value explained 78.2% of variance; F(6, 89) = 53.25, p < 0.001. Three domains independently predicted overall evaluation: Systems Thinking (beta = 0.727, p < 0.001), Reflection (beta = 0.295, p = 0.002), and Learning Environment (beta = 0.293, p = 0.013). Despite producing the highest absolute scores, Family Medicine Competencies did not independently predict overall evaluation, likely reflecting shared variance with Systems Thinking (r = 0.874). Conclusion A purposefully integrated Family Medicine block joining community-based experience, reflective practice, and explicit work with uncertainty appears to produce favorable educational outcomes across multiple domains. Of these, perceiving healthcare as an interconnected system most strongly predicted students’ overall evaluation, suggesting that systems thinking acts as the integrative thread giving other curricular elements coherence.

Virtual Care Training: A Competency-Based Telehealth Curriculum for Physician Trainees

Introduction Although virtual care has rapidly expanded, standardized, competency-based training is lacking. We developed a feasible, interactive, virtual care training (VCT) curriculum for trainee physicians that is aligned with nationally recognized competency standards. Methods Utilizing a single-group pre–post quasi-experimental design, we implemented a three-hour, in-person, competency-based VCT program aligned with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) telehealth competencies. The program comprised a one-hour interactive didactic session followed by two one-hour activity rotations: (1) two experiential case-based activities and (2) two objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs)—simulated encounters with standardized patients to perform a virtual physical examination and medication reconciliation. Standardized patients and faculty debriefers provided real-time feedback. Self-reported outcomes (comfort, difficulty, and likelihood to recommend) were evaluated using pre- and post-program surveys, while objective clinical performance was assessed by faculty debriefers during the OSCEs. Results One hundred twenty-six trainees participated in the VCT program: 119 (94.0%) completed the pre-program survey and 126 (100.0%) completed the post-program survey. Among the pre-program survey respondents, 64.0% reported having neither previous training in virtual care nor prior experience conducting a virtual care visit with a patient. Post-program, trainees reported significant improvements in being “very” or “quite” comfortable with virtual care visits (94.4% vs 36.9%), virtual physical examinations (78.5% vs 10.0%), and virtual medication reconciliation (96.0% vs 60.5%) (all p < 0.001). Perceived difficulty improved significantly after the training, with “difficult” rates dropping from 40.0% to 8.0% and “very easy” rates rising from 0.0% to 23.0%, although over half (55.0%) felt that providing virtual care was “easy” before completing the program. Lastly, trainees reported higher rates of being “extremely” or “quite” likely to recommend virtual care to patients after completing the VCT program (88.0% vs 50.4%; p < 0.001). Conclusion Our structured three-hour VCT program is a feasible model that leads to significant improvements in trainee confidence and the demonstrated performance of discrete telehealth tasks. This curriculum offers a scalable approach for integrating telehealth training into graduate medical education.

Synthesis Across Disciplines: Creating Integrated Clinical Vignettes for Pre-clerkship Medical Training.

Evaluating an interprofessional learning intervention for medical and nursing students in simulated critical-care settings

It is demonstrated that a single, well-designed interprofessional simulation session can yield meaningful educational benefits, with potential downstream benefits for patient safety in critical-care environments.

Kern’s or vicious cycle? Experience following implementation of a curriculum for structured postgraduate surgical training

Abstract Objectives In the face of reduced working hours, rising patient safety expectations, and demands for transparent, competency-based education postgraduate surgical training needs to be adapted. We developed and implemented an evidence-based postgraduate surgical training curriculum at a tertiary university hospital in Germany using Kern’s six-step approach to curriculum development. Methods The curriculum incorporated six educational strategies: regular surgical seminars and workshops, mentoring, entrustable professional activities (EPAs), specialist outpatient clinic participation, structured operative performance feedback, and sub-step operative training. Longitudinal evaluation of the perceived quality of concept and execution of the respective educational strategy was conducted among residents and attendings at three points in time between December 2023 and July 2025 using anonymous online surveys with five-point Likert scales. Results Both residents and attendings agreed on the conceptual value of the curriculum. Regular surgical seminars and workshops were consistently rated most positively in both concept and execution. Other strategies, including mentoring, EPAs, specialist outpatient clinic participation, operative performance feedback, and sub-step operative training, were valued conceptually but rated less favourably in everyday execution. In general, attendings rated concepts more positively than residents, whereas perceived execution was more neutral or negative in both groups. Conclusions A locally tailored evidence-based curriculum developed following Kern’s cycle provides a valuable framework for structured postgraduate surgical training. However, sustained evaluation and iterative adaptation are essential, as successful implementation depends less on conceptual design than on integration into clinical routine and workplace learning culture.