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Engaging intersectionality in medical education
Full text linkMedical education (ME) plays a critical role in shaping future healthcare providers; however, systemic inequities persist due to biases embedded in both the formal and hidden curricula. The hidden curriculum—unspoken values, norms, and structural inequalities—reinforces implicit biases that influence professional identity formation, clinical decision-making, and patient outcomes. This theoretical paper examines how overlapping social identities can shape health experiences and access to care, and establishes a foundation for tackling systemic inequalities by advocating for the integration of an intersectional framework into ME. As healthcare institutions increasingly focus on diversity and inclusion, we aim to demonstrate that integrating intersectionality theory into ME is a timely and necessary step towards training physicians to meet the needs of diverse patient populations and reduce care disparities. We highlight how the absence of intersectional perspectives in medical training results in narrow clinical frameworks, reduced cultural competency, and the perpetuation of health disparities through the hidden curriculum. Furthermore, we outline practical strategies for embedding intersectionality into ME, such as building an intersectional curriculum, incorporating diverse case scenarios, and establishing institutional task forces. Despite potential challenges, such as resistance to change and resource constraints, implementing intersectionality in ME remains essential and can be attainable through institutional commitment and collaborative approaches. By using intersectionality as a guiding framework, ME can better prepare future healthcare providers to deliver equitable patient centered care while reducing the systemic disparities in healthcare
Choisir avec soin en éducation médicale : combler le fossé entre les soins cliniques et les mentalités managériales
Full text linkExprimer son désaccord avec respect : accepter la complexité facilite le dialogue civil
Full text linkPolarization and incivility are on the rise, negatively affecting collegiality, workplace relationships, morale, and performance at work. The authors argue for the need for civil discourse in medicine and for embracing complexity as an essential component of that civil discourse, facilitating nuanced thinking, respectful dialogue, and greater understanding of other perspectives. This principle of embracing complexity is congruent with the attitude of physicians, who are trained to tolerate uncertainty and to hold and appreciate multiple perspectives in making diagnoses and choosing and proposing treatment plans. This understanding of civil discourse does not amount to moral relativism, whataboutism, or an embracing of both sides of an argument universally, nor does it serve as a cudgel to silence or to perpetuate hegemonic power. Instead, the principles of civil discourse clarify multiple aspects of the boundaries of professional conduct, outlining how physicians can engage in advocacy for patients and communities while maintaining collegial relationships and the perception that they will be safe providers for all patients. The rights of citizens in democracies, including to engage in peaceful protest and to say anything within the bounds of their country’s laws governing free speech, do not extend unabbreviated into the lives of professionals, who are limited by the privileges afforded to them and by the responsibilities they have to their patients and colleagues. By embracing complexity and nuance over simplism and slogans, physician colleagues who disagree with one another can communicate respectfully, advocate professionally, and be safe and effective care providers to all patients.La polarisation et l\u27incivilité sont en hausse, ce qui a un impact négatif sur la collégialité, les relations de travail, le moral et les performances professionnelles. Les auteurs plaident en faveur de la nécessité d\u27un discours civilisé en médecine et de l\u27acceptation de la complexité comme élément essentiel de ce discours civilisé, facilitant une réflexion nuancée, un dialogue respectueux et une meilleure compréhension des autres points de vue. Ce principe d\u27acceptation de la complexité est conforme à l\u27attitude des médecins, qui sont formés à tolérer l\u27incertitude et à considérer et apprécier de multiples points de vue lorsqu\u27ils établissent des diagnostics et choisissent et proposent des plans de traitement. Cette conception du discours civil n\u27équivaut pas à un relativisme moral, à une contre-attaque (« whataboutism ») ou à une acceptation universelle des deux côtés d\u27un argument, ni ne sert de bâton pour faire taire ou perpétuer un pouvoir hégémonique. Au contraire, les principes du discours civil clarifient de multiples aspects des limites de la conduite professionnelle, en décrivant comment les médecins peuvent s\u27engager dans la défense des patients et des communautés tout en maintenant des relations collégiales et l\u27image de prestataires de soins sécuritaires pour tous les patients. Les droits des citoyens dans les démocraties, notamment celui de participer à des manifestations pacifiques et de s\u27exprimer librement dans les limites des lois de leur pays régissant la liberté d\u27expression, ne s\u27étendent pas sans restriction à la vie des professionnels, qui sont limités par les privilèges qui leur sont accordés et par les responsabilités qu\u27ils ont envers leurs patients et leurs collègues. En privilégiant la complexité et la nuance plutôt que le simplisme et les slogans, les collègues médecins qui ne sont pas d\u27accord entre eux peuvent communiquer de manière respectueuse, défendre leurs intérêts de manière professionnelle et être des prestataires de soins sécuritaires et efficaces pour tous les patients
Neutralizing the Threat of Technology: A Practical Guide for Re-Evaluating Assessments to Maintain Academic Integrity
Full text linkTechnology, particularly generative artificial intelligence, poses ostensible “threats” to higher education, especially to learning outcomes and academic integrity. What is presented here is a “toolkit” that integrates four grounding concepts, cognitive offloading, automaticity, authentic assessment, and evaluative judgment, which seeks to provide educators with a foundation to consider the value of current assessments or a jumping off point for new assessment creation. Following this, four “filters” or consideration frameworks are presented to help neutralize the “threat” to assessments. They are Abandon to neutralize, Monitor to neutralize, and Enhance & Adopt to neutralize. Each filter encourages educators to consider certain questions and contexts as a means of supporting them as they explore the value of their current assessments and determine how best they want to move forward in the wake of ubiquitous technology
Indigenous Cultural Practices to Build Peace Following Violent Conflict: A Literature Review
Full text linkIn the aftermath of violent conflict, Indigenous cultural practices have played a significant role in restoring peaceful relations among former adversaries. Processes such as Mato Oput in Uganda, Gacaca in Rwanda, and Kukeleeku ka tonu in Liberia exemplify community-based approaches to reconciliation and social healing in post-conflict environments. Today, scholarly research has begun investigating and exploring the relevance and applicability of Indigenous cultural practices to conflict resolution and peacebuilding in post-conflict contexts. These practices have proven effective in addressing conflict and restoring social cohesion within Indigenous, conflict-affected communities. However, a comprehensive synthesis of the scholarly work on this subject is absent. This neglect is twofold: while there is growing recognition of ritual and cultural practices in peace studies more broadly, Indigenous practices remain underrepresented because existing literature often sidelines Indigenous voices and rarely grounds analysis in empirical work led by or with Indigenous communities. This neglect reflects broader assumptions that Indigenous knowledge is unscientific, lacking empirical validity, and insufficient for addressing structural drivers of conflict such as political exclusion or economic inequality. Consequently, Indigenous cultural practices remain underrepresented in conflict resolution and peacebuilding literature. This article seeks to address that disrepair by providing a systematic review of English-language scholarly literature on Indigenous cultural practices in post-conflict peacebuilding. It offers a thematic synthesis of key findings, outlines prevailing scholarly perspectives, highlights research gaps, and identifies directions for future research
The Impact of Classroom Architecture and Pedagogical Strategies on University Students’ Disruptive Phone Usage in Calculus
Full text linkPersonal phone usage—from group messaging to social media scrolling to online window shopping—is widespread in university classrooms. Numerous studies have documented how the presence of cell phones in the undergraduate classroom is more harmful than beneficial. Nevertheless, many educators are reluctant to enact and enforce a phone-free classroom, believing that, as adults, undergraduate students have the right to self-regulate. In this study, we utilize classroom observation data to explore how features of the learning environment, such as classroom architecture and instructor pedagogical strategies, can impact students’ propensity to reach for their phones in the middle of a calculus lesson. Further, we use student survey responses to compare overall phone usage to confidence in their knowledge and conceptual understanding of a lesson’s primary learning objective. Our results suggest that the learning environment itself, in particular the pedagogical strategies employed and the classroom architecture, can foster self-regulation amongst students without the instructor having to actively enforce a strict no-cell phones policy
An Examination of Well-Being and Retention during the Transition of Learning Modality in a University Academic Department
Full text linkThe COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate impact and a long-lasting toll on the well-being of students and faculty, influencing their performance and affecting retention rates on college campuses. This study focused on the entire academic department, rather than an individual faculty member or peer, as the department serves as the immediate learning environment, potentially fostering diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion (DEBI). The department is an academic home where students experience autonomy, relatedness, and competence. A total of 93 department members participated in a survey that elicited their perspectives and experiences related to retention, DEBI, and basic psychological needs during the first semester transitioning back from remote to in-person learning within the pandemic context. Results revealed that while the department is inclusive, there is room for improvement. Although many students and faculty/staff reported struggling during the transition, few expressed a decision to take a break from school/work. Students who were motivated to stay in school scored higher on departmental DEBI climate and basic psychological needs than those considering a break. Implications for department- and university-level policies and programs are discussed, focusing on addressing the well-being and retention of students and faculty/staff
From the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning to the Scholarly Institution: A STEM Perspective
Full text linkThere has been a documented increase in SoTL activity, which in the United Kingdom (UK) may be a result of the heightened focus on teaching due to increased regulation and monitoring, competition, changes in the workforce structure, and quality enhancement within the sector. STEM academics specifically face challenges in engaging with SoTL as the methodologies used differ from their discipline training. Offering a STEM perspective, we provide four case studies at the institutional and national level of interventions in STEM teaching to address these challenges, namely: conducting educational research with students as partners, establishing a faculty based SoTL centre, reward and recognition of staff, and the formation of a national SoTL conference for STEM educators. We discuss the extent to which the case studies demonstrate Felton’s principles of good scholarship and propose the concept of a “scholarly institution” as one which systematically nurtures and harvests SoTL research (internal and external to the institution) by establishing structures and cultures that foster evidence-informed teaching and learning practices. We conclude that to truly realise the benefits of SoTL, practitioners not only need support to undertake SoTL inquiries, but that the institutions must commit to using SoTL to inform their policies and procedures as well
“Visions of the Possible”: Collaborative-Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Full text linkIn this article we explore the challenges and rewards of a multi-year, multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional approach to collaborative teaching and learning. What does it mean to teach across disciplines and what might this look like for our students who are emerging professionals from very different fields of study? What are the challenges of adopting a collaborative model for teaching and learning? How might we envision new instructional approaches that positively impact student learning and success while simultaneously addressing the needs of our community partners? What new pedagogical approaches are emerging that might address challenges within higher education? Our inquiry here is focused on what might be if we make the time to explore new ways of teaching both in and out of the classroom. Following Hutchings’ (2000) call for “visions of the possible” in higher education, we present three distinct case studies that demonstrate the potential of deeply engaged, collaborative teaching and learning across disciplines. We ask what this experimental approach might mean for future educators and students alike
