An update on developments in medical education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A BEME scoping review: BEME Guide No. 64

Abstract

Background

COVID-19 has fundamentally altered how education is delivered. Gordon et al. previously conducted a review of medical education developments in response to COVID-19; however, the field has rapidly evolved in the ensuing months. This scoping review aims to map the extent, range and nature of subsequent developments, summarizing the expanding evidence base and identifying areas for future research.

Methods

The authors followed the five stages of a scoping review outlined by Arskey and O’Malley. Four online databases and MedEdPublish were searched. Two authors independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts. Included articles described developments in medical education deployed in response to COVID-19 and reported outcomes. Data extraction was completed by two authors and synthesized into a variety of maps and charts.

Results

One hundred twenty-seven articles were included: 104 were from North America, Asia and Europe; 51 were undergraduate, 41 graduate, 22 continuing medical education, and 13 mixed; 35 were implemented by universities, 75 by academic hospitals, and 17 by organizations or collaborations. The focus of developments included pivoting to online learning (n = 58), simulation (n = 24), assessment (n = 11), well-being (n = 8), telehealth (n = 5), clinical service reconfigurations (n = 4), interviews (n = 4), service provision (n = 2), faculty development (n = 2) and other (n = 9). The most common Kirkpatrick outcome reported was Level 1, however, a number of studies reported 2a or 2b. A few described Levels 3, 4a, 4b or other outcomes (e.g. quality improvement).

Conclusions

This scoping review mapped the available literature on developments in medical education in response to COVID-19, summarizing developments and outcomes to serve as a guide for future work. The review highlighted areas of relative strength, as well as several gaps. Numerous articles have been written about remote learning and simulation and these areas are ripe for full systematic reviews. Telehealth, interviews and faculty development were lacking and need urgent attention.

Keywords:

• Best evidence medical education
• undergraduate
• postgraduate
• continuing

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the patients who have suffered from or lost their lives to COVID-19, our colleagues who have bravely battled this pandemic at great personal cost, and our learners for their resilience and adaptability in response to enormous changes in medical education. The authors would also like to thank Whitney Townsend for her expert input into the search strategy and assistance running the database search.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michelle Daniel

Michelle Daniel, MD, MHPE, is Chair of the BEME Review Committee, Associate Editor for Medical Teacher, and Vice Dean for Medical Education and Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA.

Morris Gordon

Morris Gordon, MBChB, PHD, MMed, is Cochrane Coordinating Editor, Chair of the BEME Executive Committee, and a Professor of Evidence Synthesis and Systematic Review, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.

Madalena Patricio

Madalena Patricio, PhD, is Past-President of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), Chair of BEME, and Honorary Professor at the Department of Medical Education at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.

Ahmad Hider

Ahmad Hider, MPhil, is a second-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Cameron Pawlik

Cameron Pawlik, BS, is a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Rhea Bhagdev

Rhea Bhagdev, MBBS, BSc, is a Clinical Fellow in Medical Education at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, UK.

Shoaib Ahmad

Shoaib Ahmad, MBChB, is a Clinical Fellow in Medical Education at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, UK.

Sebastian Alston

Sebastian Alston, MD, is a Director of BEME International Collaborating Centre and a Professor of Pathology at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, Alabama, USA.

Sophie Park

Sophie Park, MBChB, M.Med.Sci (dist), EdD FRCGP, SFHEA, is a General Practitioner and Professor of Primary Care and Medical Education. She is an NIHR School of Primary Care Evidence Synthesis Working Group Lead, Director of a BEME International Collaborating Centre, and Director of Medical Education (Primary Care and Community) at University College London Medical School, London, UK.

Teresa Pawlikowska

Teresa Pawlikowska, MBBS, MSc, is a General Practitioner, Director of a BEME International Collaborating Centre, the Inaugural Director of the Health Professions Education Centre (HPEC), Royal College of Surgeons University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland.

Eliot Rees

Eliot Rees, MBChC, MA, is a Lecturer in Medical Education at Keele University, an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice at University College London, and Chair of Trainees in the Association for the Study of Medical Education (TASME), London, UK.

Andrea Jane Doyle

Andrea Jane Doyle, PhD, is a medical physicist and Research Officer for the Health Professions Education Centre (HPEC), Royal College of Surgeons University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland.

Mohan Pammi

Mohan Pammi, MD, PhD, is a Director of the BEME International Collaborating Centre at Texas Children's Hospital, Director of the Evidence Academy at Texas Children's Hospital and Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.

Satid Thammasitboon

Satid Thammasitboon, MD, MHPE, is a Director of the Center for Research, Innovation and Scholarship in Medical Education (CRIS), Co-Director of a BEME International Collaborating Centre, and Associate Professor of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.

Mary Haas

Mary Haas, MD, is Assistant Residency Program Director and Clinical Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI.

William Peterson

William Peterson, MD, is a Director of Emergency Medicine Residency Preparatory Course, Assistant Clerkship Director, and an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI.

Madelyn Lew

Madelyn Lew, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Medical School Pathology Education Curriculum at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Deena Khamees

Deena Khamees, MD, is a Clinical Lecturer and Assistant Program Director of Emergency Medicine, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Maxwell Spadafore

Maxwell Spadafore, MD, is a first-year Emergency Medicine resident at Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Nicola Clarke

Nicola Clarke, PhD, is an Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice and an Honorary Lecturer at University College London Medical School, London, UK.

Jennifer Stojan

Jennifer N. Stojan, MD, MHPE, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.