Clinical-stage students had roughly ten times the odds of reporting diagnostic confidence relative to preclinical students, with an odds ratio of 9.7 and a 95 percent confidence interval of 4.4 to 21.8, a statistically significant association with p less than 0.001. Training stage alone, however, did not tell the whole story. In multivariable logistic regression, which adjusts for other measured factors, completion of a neurology rotation was independently associated with higher self-reported diagnostic confidence, carrying an odds ratio of 4.1 with a 95 percent confidence interval of 2.1 to 7.9 and p less than 0.001.

The model's discriminative performance was modest, with an area under the curve of 0.65, indicating that rotation exposure helped separate confident from non-confident students but left considerable variation unexplained. Knowledge outcomes revealed persistent misconceptions that clinical exposure had not fully erased. Only 47 percent of respondents correctly identified epilepsy as a treatable condition, and just 26 percent believed that people with epilepsy can live independently.

These figures suggest that even among future physicians, misconceptions about epilepsy's manageability and the social lives of people living with the condition remain widespread at both stages of training. The study's authors frame these findings carefully. Because the design was cross-sectional and all measures were self-reported, the results should be interpreted as indicators of perceived preparedness rather than demonstrated competence.

A student who feels confident after a neurology rotation may still make diagnostic errors, and the survey cannot establish that rotations cause confidence, only that the two were associated in this sample. Epilepsy is one of the world's most common neurological conditions, affecting more than 50 million people. Despite advances in care, stigma and misconceptions persist globally and can influence both help-seeking behavior and clinical management.

In the UAE, limited data had previously been available on how medical students' epilepsy-related knowledge, attitudes, and diagnostic confidence vary across training stages, which motivated the study. The authors argue that the moderate associations between training phase and knowledge outcomes support earlier and more structured neurology and epilepsy teaching, paired with objective assessment of skills rather than reliance on self-reported confidence alone. The survey population skewed heavily female, at 83 percent, and included 57 percent preclinical and 43 percent clinical students, a distribution that reflects the participating cohorts rather than the broader student population.

The authors acknowledge important limitations. The modest sample size and uneven institutional representation across the seven colleges may limit generalizability to all UAE medical students, and the self-reported, single-time-point design cannot track how confidence or knowledge changes as individuals progress through training. Even so, the pattern is consistent: clinical exposure, particularly through neurology rotations, was associated with higher perceived diagnostic confidence, while misconceptions about epilepsy treatability and independent living persisted across both preclinical and clinical stages, pointing to specific targets for curriculum reform.

Subject of Research: Epilepsy knowledge, attitudes, and diagnostic confidence among preclinical and clinical medical students in the UAE

Article Title: Health and social awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy among preclinical and clinical medical students in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study

Article References: Mohamed, M. A., Houni, A. E., Shalaby, R. H., Al Ahbabi, M., Rahmatullah, M., Shajahan, J., Mumtaz, M., Mansour, O., Alaa, R., & Ismaiel, M. (2026). Health and social awareness and attitudes toward epilepsy among preclinical and clinical medical students in the United Arab Emirates: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10233-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10233-7

Keywords: epilepsy, medical education, neurology rotation, diagnostic confidence, UAE, cross-sectional study, stigma, medical students, BMC Medical Education, clinical training, Health, social

The study included 124 respondents who completed a structured electronic questionnaire: 57.3% were pharmacists and 42.7% were pharmacy assistants. Most participants were women (96.0%), and the median age was 34 years, with an interquartile range of 28–41. Pharmacists had significantly longer work experience than pharmacy assistants (p = 0.019). Prior exposure to anaphylaxis and epinephrine autoinjector training was limited. Only 21.8% of respondents had attended relevant training, with participation higher among pharmacists than assistants (31.0% versus 9.4%; p = 0.004). Most participants, 69.4%, had not used a training device, while only 4.0% reported that such devices were available in their pharmacy. The median knowledge score was 6, with an interquartile range of 5–8.

Questionnaire results revealed that participants generally understood several recognizable features of anaphylaxis. A majority correctly identified the onset of the condition, with 86.3% answering the relevant knowledge question correctly, and 93.5% knew that anaphylaxis can occur without a previous allergy. Performance was much weaker on clinically consequential treatment questions. Only 38.7% gave the correct answer concerning antihistamine use, while just 8.9% correctly recognized the indication for administering a second dose of epinephrine. The study therefore identified a marked difference between recognition of basic clinical features and knowledge of when and how epinephrine should be used. Knowledge scores were higher among younger participants and among those reporting relevant training, continuing education, direct patient contact, or previous experience with epinephrine autoinjectors.

The practical component used an epinephrine autoinjector training device and an eight-step evaluation checklist. Of the participants included in the practical assessment, reported as 147 observations in the study, none performed all administration steps correctly. Correct execution of the initial steps was demonstrated by 24.5%, illustrating that difficulty was not confined to later technical stages of device use. The findings do not establish that an anaphylaxis event would have been managed inadequately in every pharmacy, and the study was conducted in one country with voluntary participation. It also assessed theoretical knowledge and simulated technical performance rather than patient outcomes. Even with those limitations, the results point to a specific preparedness problem: many pharmacy workers could identify some features of anaphylaxis but were unfamiliar with important treatment decisions and lacked reliable technique in using an epinephrine autoinjector.

The researchers emphasized targeted, practice-oriented training as a way to strengthen competencies in both anaphylaxis recognition and management within pharmaceutical care. Their findings connect limited formal training and infrequent access to training devices with gaps in knowledge and observed technique, although the cross-sectional design cannot establish causation. The study was not a clinical trial and did not test whether a training program would improve emergency care or prevent severe outcomes. Its combination of questionnaire data and direct observation of autoinjector technique nevertheless exposed deficiencies in two linked areas: understanding when epinephrine is indicated and executing its administration correctly. The authors’ conclusion was that moderate general awareness was insufficient and that more focused education and practical rehearsal were needed to strengthen the readiness of pharmacists and pharmacy assistants to respond to anaphylaxis.

Subject of Research: Assessment of Latvian community pharmacy workers’ anaphylaxis knowledge and epinephrine autoinjector skills

Article Title: Gaps in knowledge and skills in pharmaceutical care for anaphylaxis

Article References: Veinberga, E. G., Lapiņa, L., & Urtāne, I. (2026). Gaps in knowledge and skills in pharmaceutical care for anaphylaxis. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15607-7

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15607-7

Keywords: anaphylaxis, epinephrine, epinephrine autoinjectors, pharmacists, pharmacy assistants, pharmaceutical care, Latvia, cross-sectional study, clinical training, knowledge assessment, Gaps, knowledge

The study primarily described the creation and mapping of the longitudinal curriculum while also evaluating preparedness through surveys. Its instructional components included interviews with people with disabilities, interdisciplinary panels, functional mobility assessments and immersive clinical experiences during the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation clerkship. The curriculum’s content was mapped against the six Core Competencies on Disability published in 2019 by the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education.

It addressed all six competencies and 38 of 49 associated sub-competencies, showing that the program offered broad coverage but did not encompass every item in the competency framework. The reported comparison therefore concerns a substantial, standards-aligned educational intervention rather than a single lecture, isolated course or brief clinical rotation. Survey responses from Northwestern students were compared with responses from visiting clerkship students who had not participated in the same longitudinal curriculum, and the results were analyzed using paired t-tests.

The higher mean score among Northwestern students was associated with participation in the integrated program and indicates greater perceived preparedness. Because this was a comparative, self-reported survey, the analysis does not demonstrate that the curriculum caused changes in clinical decisions or that those changes would improve care for disabled patients. The supplied results also do not establish effects on patient experiences, health-service access or health disparities.

The research addresses an inconsistency in undergraduate medical curricula, which the study background notes persists despite national calls for reform and the known health disparities and barriers to care experienced by people with disabilities. The Northwestern model responds by sequencing disability education throughout medical school, aligning it with established competencies, including perspectives from disabled people and incorporating practical rehabilitation experiences. The authors proposed that broader adoption of similar models could help expand disability education, but that possibility was not tested in this study.

Its clearest reported result is an association between the four-year integrated curriculum and higher self-reported preparedness among Northwestern students.

Subject of Research: Evaluation of a longitudinally integrated disability curriculum for undergraduate medical students at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Article Title: Longitudinally integrated disability education in undergraduate medical training: a comprehensive approach

Article References: Rydberg, L., Kessler, A., Rho, M., Schmidt, S. M., Spill, G., Weber, S., & Mhatre, P. (2026). Longitudinally integrated disability education in undergraduate medical training: a comprehensive approach. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10283-x

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10283-x

Keywords: disability education, medical curriculum, undergraduate medical students, student preparedness, disability competencies, health disparities, clinical training, rehabilitation medicine, interdisciplinary teaching, Northwestern University, Longitudinally, integrated

Researchers extracted data from notification forms entered into the institution’s i-DEAL occupational safety reporting system. The records came from preclinical laboratories, clinical units and the central sterilization unit. They assessed incident type, the instrument or mechanism involved, contamination status, the anatomical site affected and post-exposure management procedures.

The study was descriptive and retrospective rather than an intervention trial, meaning it characterized reported events without testing whether any safety program reduced injuries. Statistical comparisons used the Pearson chi-square test or the Fisher–Freeman–Halton exact test, as appropriate. The analysis identified statistically significant differences among training levels in incident type, mechanism and department, with p-values no greater than 0.006.

Most incidents were classified as percutaneous sharps injuries rather than mucocutaneous or ocular exposures, and needlesticks represented nearly one-third of the total. The contaminated category applied to 78.7% of incidents, although the supplied study abstract does not characterize the contaminant involved. Together, these measurements show that the institutional reports were dominated by penetrating injuries associated with sharps, particularly in clinical training and professional roles.

Preclinical students had a different reported profile. Their records contained a higher relative share of mucocutaneous and ocular exposures, including ocular events, but no needlestick injuries. This pattern is an association within the available incident reports, not evidence that one training stage inherently causes a particular type of exposure.

The authors proposed that prevention efforts should reflect the hazards associated with each stage and clinical context. Their suggestions included early and repeated safety education, safer needle-handling workflows, consistent eye protection from the preclinical phase, and streamlined reporting and post-exposure follow-up. Because the study did not evaluate these measures, their benefits and effects on injury rates were not established.

Incident-report data can identify patterns in reported occupational hazards, but they do not provide a complete measure of how often injuries occur. Events that were not recognized, reported or recorded would therefore be missing. The finding of no needlestick injuries among preclinical students describes the available reports and does not establish that such events were impossible.

Within these limits, the study documents a dental education environment in which percutaneous sharps injuries predominated overall, alongside a comparatively greater concentration of mucocutaneous and ocular exposures in preclinical records.

Subject of Research: Occupational injuries and exposures among dental students and professionals in one dental school

Article Title: Occupational injuries and exposures in dental education: a retrospective analysis of institutional incident reports

Article References: Akbiyik Az, Z. A., Muhtar, M. O., & Ayhan, M. (2026). Occupational injuries and exposures in dental education: a retrospective analysis of institutional incident reports. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10666-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10666-0

Keywords: dental education, occupational safety, sharps injuries, needlestick injuries, ocular exposure, clinical training, preclinical laboratories, incident reporting, post-exposure management, Occupational, injuries, exposures

Patient-centred care emphasizes understanding patients’ needs and perspectives, communicating effectively, sharing decisions and maintaining collaborative relationships between patients and practitioners. To assess these orientations, the researchers administered an online questionnaire containing the 18-item Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale, known as PPOS, along with three additional items. The PPOS was designed to evaluate attitudes toward patient-centred care through two dimensions: Sharing and Caring. Students completed the survey through Google Forms in approximately 10 minutes.

Participants had a mean age of 20.87 years, with a standard deviation of 3.16 years and a range of 18 to 52, and 74.3% were female. The response rate was 70.5%. Exploratory factor analysis identified three dimensions in the responses: Clinical Skills versus Patient Relationships, Practitioner Reliance versus Patient Education, and Practitioner Authority. The first dimension had the highest mean score, 4.78 with a standard deviation of 1.06, compared with 3.56, standard deviation 1.29, for Practitioner Authority and 3.39, standard deviation 1.04, for Practitioner Reliance versus Patient Education. These results indicate that students’ responses were more consistently oriented toward patient relationships than toward the other measured aspects of clinical practice.

The original two-factor PPOS structure showed only suboptimal internal consistency in this sample, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.665. The three-factor structure produced by exploratory factor analysis had improved internal consistency, with an overall alpha of 0.816. Year of study was positively associated with Clinical Skills versus Patient Relationships, with a correlation coefficient of 0.174 and a p-value of 0.025, and with Practitioner Authority, at r = 0.189 and p = 0.014. Age was also positively associated with Practitioner Authority, at r = 0.175 and p = 0.024. Because the study was cross-sectional, these associations do not establish that students become more patient-centred as they progress through training or that age causes changes in attitudes.

The study provides a snapshot of how these students responded to questions about patient-centred care, with the strongest orientation appearing in the patient-relationship domain and more mixed responses concerning practitioner reliance, patient education and clinical authority. The findings do not establish how students’ attitudes changed over time or how the responses corresponded to performance in clinical encounters. The three-factor pattern was exploratory and requires validation in independent samples and across multiple optometry institutions. The single-university setting, self-reported questionnaire responses and relatively modest associations with year of study also limit how broadly the results can be generalized.

Subject of Research: Cross-sectional assessment of patient-centred care perceptions among South African optometry students

Article Title: Optometry students’ perceptions of patient-centred clinical training at a South African university: a cross-sectional survey

Article References: Van Dyk, N., Ismail, F., & Hasrod, N. (2026). Optometry students’ perceptions of patient-centred clinical training at a South African university: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10680-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10680-2

Keywords: optometry education, patient-centred care, clinical training, South Africa, student perceptions, Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale, exploratory factor analysis, health professions education, University of Johannesburg, Optometry, students, perceptions

Researchers used Bereday’s model to compare the Iranian curriculum with the three selected US programs through four stages: description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison. They examined educational-system factors, similarities and differences in curriculum, and the strengths and limitations of each program. Recommendations were then developed in relation to the specific educational and cultural, political and social conditions of the two countries rather than proposing direct replication of one national model.

The shared emphasis on research was accompanied by a central divergence in clinical education. The study characterized Iran’s program as placing excessive focus on theoretical coursework and research while providing insufficient attention to clinical training. The US comparisons included stronger attention to community needs in course design and differences in how credits were distributed between theoretical courses and research. The findings therefore concern the structure and organization of doctoral education; they do not establish that graduates from one system achieved better clinical outcomes than graduates from another.

Another reported weakness was the limited alignment between Iran’s stated mission and objectives and the practical needs of the community. The authors also identified the need to strengthen teaching skills and better prepare doctoral nursing students to fulfil roles expected within the curriculum. These issues could affect the future of the nursing profession, but the comparative design did not directly measure professional competence, patient outcomes, career progression or the effect of the recommended reforms. In addition, the analysis covered one Iranian program and three selected US programs, so the results should not be generalized to every doctoral nursing course in either country.

Based on the comparison, the researchers recommended aligning the Iranian curriculum with community needs, creating a more balanced distribution of theory, research and clinical training, and revising syllabi to place greater emphasis on teaching skills. They also proposed developing students’ professional roles, selectively adapting relevant practices from the selected US programs, and expanding international collaboration. These are curriculum-development recommendations arising from a descriptive comparison, not evidence that a particular intervention had already been tested or shown to improve nursing education. The overall result is a detailed map of where the Iranian and selected US programs converge and diverge, with clinical relevance and the connection between formal objectives and community needs emerging as the principal areas requiring attention.

Subject of Research: Comparative analysis of doctoral nursing curricula in Iran and three US universities

Article Title: A comparative analysis of Iran’s doctoral nursing program and three U.S. nursing colleges: “Michigan, Arizona, and Rutgers”

Article References: Shahcheragh, S. H., Nobahar, M., Abbaszade, A., & Babamohamadi, H. (2026). A comparative analysis of Iran’s doctoral nursing program and three U.S. nursing colleges: “Michigan, Arizona, and Rutgers”. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10655-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10655-3

Keywords: nursing education, doctoral nursing, curriculum comparison, Iran, Michigan State University, Rutgers University, University of Arizona, clinical training, nursing research, medical education, comparative, analysis

EndoRare separates the pathognomonic features that define a lesion from non-diagnostic attributes, encoding the defining features into a learnable prototype embedding. By varying only the non-diagnostic attributes across generated images, the system produces visually diverse exemplars while preserving the diagnostic content that matters for recognition, all without retraining the underlying model. The researchers validated the framework across four rare pathologies: calcifying fibrous tumor, juvenile polyposis syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome.

An important checkpoint for any generative tool intended for medical use is whether its outputs look credible to specialists. Expert reviewers judged the EndoRare-generated images to be clinically plausible, indicating that the synthetic exemplars retained the features that define each pathology rather than producing superficially convincing but diagnostically empty images. The synthetic data also delivered measurable gains for machine learning.

When used to augment training sets, EndoRare-generated images significantly improved downstream AI classifiers, increasing true positive rates at low false-positive rates. Beyond algorithms, the team ran an exploratory reader study with novice endoscopists. Exposure to EndoRare-generated cases was associated with improved image-level recognition of the rare lesions, pointing to a role for synthetic exemplars in clinical education where real cases are too scarce to build a training curriculum around.

The authors are careful about scope. The reader study was exploratory, and the association between exposure to synthetic cases and improved recognition does not by itself establish a causal training benefit. The findings support EndoRare's potential as a data-efficient tool for rare-lesion education while motivating prospective controlled validation before any conclusions about deployment are drawn.

Even with those limitations, the work demonstrates that a single reference image can be stretched into a diverse, expert-endorsed set of training exemplars for pathologies that are rarely photographed. For rare gastrointestinal lesions, where both AI development and novice clinician training have been constrained by the same shortage of real cases, EndoRare offers a data-efficient way to address both needs from the same synthesized resource, pending the controlled studies that will determine how well the approach performs in practice.

Subject of Research: One-shot synthesis of rare gastrointestinal lesions improves diagnostic accuracy and clinical training

Article Title: One-shot synthesis of rare gastrointestinal lesions improves diagnostic accuracy and clinical training

Article References: Yu, J., Zhu, Y., Fu, P., Chen, T., Wang, Z., Wu, F., Li, Q., Zhou, P., Wang, S., & Yang, X. (2026). One-shot synthesis of rare gastrointestinal lesions improves diagnostic accuracy and clinical training. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78492-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-78492-y

Keywords: EndoRare, gastrointestinal endoscopy, rare lesions, generative AI, image synthesis, data augmentation, clinical training, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, One-shot, synthesis, rare

Another 50 students followed the four-year graduate-entry clinical track and served as a contemporaneous comparison group. The researchers examined individual SCI publication counts, cumulative impact factor, clinical examination scores, delayed graduation rates and self-reported weekly time logs. For the eight-year pathway, the new requirement called for graduation with original papers in journals ranked in the first or second quartile of the Journal Citation Reports, with the student listed as first or co-first author.

The four-year clinical track did not have an equivalent SCI publication requirement. The researchers used Mann–Whitney U tests for quantitative comparisons between two groups and Kruskal–Wallis H tests for multigroup contrasts, followed by Bonferroni-adjusted Dunn post-hoc tests. Interview records were assessed through thematic framework coding to explore how trainees allocated time between research and clinical training.

After the policy change, the median number of SCI publications among eight-year-track graduates doubled from 0.5 to 1.0. Their cumulative impact factor rose from 2.8 to 6.5. Both differences were statistically significant at P < 0.001.

Their reported weekly research time also increased from 8 hours to 18 hours. In contrast, graduates in the four-year clinical track recorded zero original SCI papers across all six cohorts. Measured clinical examination performance did not differ meaningfully between the pre-policy and post-policy eight-year cohorts.

Average scores were 85.7 and 86.4, respectively, with P = 0.34. The authors did not identify a statistically significant score difference. Based on weekly time logs and interview accounts, however, they said the additional 10 hours devoted to research likely displaced time that could otherwise have been spent on bedside clinical training.

The study did not directly measure every clinical activity, so this was an interpretation of the reported schedules and experiences rather than a comprehensive time-motion assessment. Interviews showed that protected research blocks were important to completing full research projects. The researchers reported that only trainees with multi-year protected research time were able to complete them.

Four-year-track interviewees described their clinical rotation schedules as fully saturated, leaving no capacity for original scholarship, and their weekly logs were consistent with those accounts. Because the four-year pathway had no corresponding SCI graduation mandate, the results do not show that the same publication rule reduced its scholarly output; instead, they describe how its trainees’ existing clinical workload differed from that of eight-year trainees able to undertake protected research. Among eight-year trainees, higher publication counts and impact factor accompanied a marked increase in weekly research time after the requirement took effect, but average clinical examination scores remained similar.

The study was conducted at a single teaching hospital in Shanghai and used a nonrandomized comparison across two educational pathways and different policy periods. It therefore supports an association between the policy and reported training patterns, rather than proving that the mandate alone caused publication growth or that changes in clinical study time affected patient care. Overall, the study suggests that uniform publication requirements may distribute educational burdens unevenly when training pathways provide different amounts of protected research time.

The researchers proposed tiered criteria that match scholarly expectations to the research time available in each pathway, while noting that this approach requires further investigation. The evidence does not establish that such standards would improve clinical outcomes, reduce delayed graduation or produce better patient care. It does show that measurable research gains after an SCI mandate occurred among eight-year trainees with protected time, whereas clinically saturated four-year trainees had neither that opportunity nor a comparable graduation requirement.

Subject of Research: Effects of SCI publication mandates on research output and clinical training time in Chinese medical education.

Article Title: Uniform SCI Publication mandates are associated with unequal clinical training burdens: a quasi-experiment comparing two medical training pathways in China

Article References: Peng, Y., Zhao, W.-L., Gong, Z.-Y., Xu, E., & Gu, Q. (2026). Uniform SCI Publication mandates are associated with unequal clinical training burdens: a quasi-experiment comparing two medical training pathways in China. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10276-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10276-w

Keywords: SCI publications, medical education, clinical training, research time, medical students, China, quasi-experiment, education equity, publication output, Uniform, Publication, mandates

The finding challenges a long-standing “no-death paradigm” in medical simulation, under which scenario designers have generally avoided allowing a simulated patient to die because fatal outcomes are thought to distract learners or undermine psychological safety. The authors noted that this approach rests largely on expert opinion and evidence involving novice learners, leaving little empirical information about students approaching independent clinical practice. In the sessions examined for this study, however, patient death was possible but not scripted: whether it occurred depended on the simulated clinical course and the decisions made by participants. The researchers did not record whether any respondent actually witnessed a death, so the results demonstrate acceptance of the possibility rather than students’ reactions to an experienced death.

Agreement remained above 90% in every academic year, including the cohorts recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the study found no evidence of differences by sex: 91.5% of female participants and 93.8% of male participants agreed. There were also no detected differences across age groups. Cohort and sex comparisons were evaluated with non-parametric tests, and the researchers reported agreement proportions with 95% Wilson confidence intervals. These results indicate a consistently positive attitude toward potentially fatal simulation scenarios among the students surveyed, although the repeated cross-sectional design means that each cohort was measured at one point rather than tracking changes within individual students over time.

For simulation educators, the findings suggest that the possibility of death may be considered for final-year students nearing independent practice, provided that scenarios are carefully designed and accompanied by structured debriefing. The authors were explicit that their evidence concerns attitudes, not educational outcomes: a single attitudinal item cannot establish whether an experienced simulated death improves learning, clinical judgment, psychological safety or performance. Nor does the observational design show that exposure to fatal scenarios causes better or worse training outcomes. Further study would need to distinguish acceptance in advance from students’ responses after witnessing a death and to test whether the educational effects justify including such scenarios. The evidence nevertheless offers an empirical counterpoint to the assumption that all medical students reject simulated death, showing broad acceptance across eight years at one Spanish faculty.

Subject of Research: Medical students’ attitudes toward the possibility of patient death in high-fidelity clinical simulation.

Article Title: Acceptance of the possibility of simulated patient death among final-year medical students: a repeated cross-sectional study across eight consecutive cohorts

Article References: Dueñas-Ruiz, J., Rodrigues, L., Castro-Portillo, E., Sanz-García, A., Martín-Conty, J. L., Polonio-López, B., Castro-Villamor, M. Á., & Martín-Rodríguez, F. (2026). Acceptance of the possibility of simulated patient death among final-year medical students: a repeated cross-sectional study across eight consecutive cohorts. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10104-1

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10104-1

Keywords: medical simulation, patient death, medical education, high-fidelity simulation, final-year students, clinical training, attitudes, COVID-19 cohorts, debriefing, Spain, Acceptance, possibility

The research included students at 29 Clinical Pastoral Education centers accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education across 15 U.S. states. Clinical Pastoral Education is required clinical training for healthcare chaplains, who support people experiencing spiritual and emotional distress. The investigators examined how students understood the development of emotional intelligence, defined in the study as the capacity to perceive, use, understand and manage emotions.

Most participants, 77.0%, reported that their programs included learning activities explicitly designed to foster it. Students rated clinical practice experiences as somewhat or very useful for increasing emotional intelligence at 98.0%, followed by verbatim case discussions at 96.9% and individual supervision or consultation at 94.9%. These ratings identify the parts of training students associated with emotional-intelligence growth, rather than measuring a causal effect or a controlled before-and-after change.

Thematic analysis of 1,464 free-text statements produced four recurring facilitator themes: clinical practice experiences, group-based learning, reflective learning, and relational supervision and mentorship. Students described clinical practice as a way of engaging with the people they served, while small-group learning provided opportunities to explore experiences with peers. Reflective learning created space to examine their own responses, and supervision and mentorship offered guidance through relationships they experienced as supportive.

Learning about diversity, inclusion and equity was also described as facilitating their growth. Taken together, the accounts portray emotional-intelligence development as a relational process involving patients, peers, educators and students themselves. Within the study’s action-reflection model, supervised clinical experience and small-group learning provided the settings in which these encounters and reflections occurred.

Students also emphasized trust, safety, time and energy as important for engaging with their own emotions and with the emotional experiences of others. The study’s barrier themes operated at intrapersonal, interpersonal, structural and contextual levels. Personal fears could impede emotional engagement, while difficult group dynamics affected learning in collective settings.

Structural challenges and institutional pressures also shaped students’ opportunities to develop emotional intelligence. The authors therefore framed the findings as showing that emotional-intelligence development during clinical training is not only an individual undertaking: students’ experiences were connected to relationship quality, organizational culture, openness to diversity, available resources and institutional commitment. This interpretation remains an account of what participants reported.

Methodologically, the investigators used a concurrent mixed-methods design, analyzing survey data and open-ended responses in parallel. Descriptive statistics summarized students’ assessments of curriculum elements, thematic analysis examined the free-text statements about facilitators and barriers, and narrative weaving integrated the two forms of evidence. The research population was limited to clinical pastoral education students in accredited centers across the United States, and the results should be read as findings from that defined training network rather than as a direct measure of emotional-intelligence change.

The study offers a detailed account of the conditions students associated with emotionally demanding clinical learning: direct clinical contact, discussion of cases, reflective space, trustworthy supervision, diversity-focused learning, and sufficient time and energy to engage with difficult material.

Subject of Research: Healthcare chaplain students’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to emotional-intelligence development during clinical pastoral education

Article Title: Facilitators and barriers to developing emotional intelligence during clinical training in healthcare settings: a mixed methods study of clinical pastoral education students

Article References: Szilagyi, C., Borchik, A. K., & Palmer, P. K. (2026). Facilitators and barriers to developing emotional intelligence during clinical training in healthcare settings: a mixed methods study of clinical pastoral education students. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05812-8

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05812-8

Keywords: emotional intelligence, clinical pastoral education, healthcare chaplains, clinical training, reflective learning, supervision, mentorship, diversity and inclusion, mixed methods, patient care, Facilitators, barriers