Innovations in Healthcare Education: What to Expect
Innovations in Healthcare Education: The Future of Teaching in Medicine
The healthcare sector is evolving at a rapid pace, with new trends, technologies, and philosophies offering opportunities to connect with patients and improve health outcomes. Healthcare educators are eager to make the most of emerging solutions — but the learning curve can be steep when it comes to integrating these systems effectively, all while remaining mindful of security and compliance.
There exists a growing expectation that healthcare educators will integrate advanced solutions to make instruction more accessible and engaging. To that end, educating health professionals should move beyond an exclusive focus on foundational pedagogical theories and practices to also touch on emerging trends in healthcare. We have identified several of these below, discussing what these trends mean for students, healthcare professionals, and the educators tasked with training them.
The Evolution of Healthcare Education
Healthcare educators have long shared a common goal: to help healthcare professionals develop a comprehensive skill set so that they can maintain a high quality of care on behalf of their patients. Over time, however, the specific skills and concepts emphasized (and the locations in which they were taught) have evolved, alongside the scope of practice in fields such as nursing or medical assisting.
These days, a greater share of health professions rely on evidence-based practice to ensure that clinical expertise and up-to-date research are integrated into healthcare practice, ultimately informing clinical decision-making. Research indicates that this can boost patient satisfaction and health outcomes, yet it is more challenging to foster these abilities than to teach traditional clinical skills alone.
New technological opportunities help educators meet these high expectations, and many are excited to make the most of these cutting-edge solutions. Insights published in BMC Nursing suggest that, among nurse educators and clinical mentors, there is a "positive attitude towards digital technology on a pedagogical-didactic level," but further training is needed to better understand emerging digital technologies in the context of health-centered instruction.
Traditional Methods in Healthcare Teaching
Traditional healthcare education frequently focused on hands-on instruction, with the goal of directly preparing future healthcare workers to complete essential tasks in clinics, hospitals, and other facilities. For example, early nursing diploma programs were often based in hospitals, where students received practical training and learned to provide direct patient care.
As theoretical priorities took center stage, instruction largely moved into the classroom — although some clinical opportunities remained available to help students apply skills in healthcare settings. In this context, traditional teaching strategies involved lecture-based instruction, in which educators introduced students to critical concepts while students listened and took notes.
This approach to education was rather passive, and while some students asked questions or participated in discussions, classroom learning often felt far removed from the realities of the healthcare sector. Today's tech-driven opportunities aim to merge these two key areas by offering deeper insights into evidence-based practice while also providing plenty of chances to explore evidence-based frameworks in a hands-on capacity.
The Shift Toward Technology-Driven Learning
Many changes in healthcare education have arrived in response to emerging technologies, which offer a range of solutions for providing instruction and sparking understanding among diverse students. From the proliferation of online learning to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive personalization, these developments have revealed that technology can be leveraged to accomplish many goals.
That being said, the original mission of the healthcare educator remains relevant: to foster an in-depth understanding of clinical concepts along with the tangible skills needed to provide competent care. With new technologies, healthcare educators can accommodate the many students who previously fell through the cracks, bringing a more inclusive and effective approach to contemporary healthcare education.
Innovations Transforming Healthcare Education
Healthcare education has come a long way in a few short years. It draws on cutting-edge technologies to make learning experiences feel more immersive and lessons more resonant. These new opportunities promote accessibility, too, allowing a wider variety of students to access materials or activities online or in a hybrid format. To clarify these opportunities, we highlight several advanced technologies as they relate to current trends in healthcare education:
Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR & AR)
Virtual reality (VR) promises to bring immersive worlds to the modern healthcare student, offering a unique perspective on the healthcare environment even when being physically present in this space is not possible or advisable. This can be useful when participating in simulations, as VR helps students engage in realistic situations that are designed to reflect the fast pace and high-stakes nature of the actual healthcare environment.
Already, many health educators show a willingness to adopt or even fully embrace VR, with preliminary research suggesting that this technology can help to improve students' knowledge. Augmented reality (AR) takes this a step further, superimposing digital information or imagery to make tech-driven experiences feel even more interactive.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Adaptive Learning
Drawing on a wealth of student insights, artificial intelligence aims to synthesize diverse information to highlight patterns that indicate student progress as well as any gaps in understanding. This is already heavily utilized in many aspects of healthcare education — helping streamline time-consuming tasks that may otherwise stand in the way of effective instructional planning or delivery.
Adaptive learning leverages AI to tailor learning experiences based on students' unique needs, continually analyzing how they interact with learning materials and participate in class experiences. If students struggle with specific topics, adaptive systems can make relevant adjustments, presenting information at a pace or in a style that's more likely to promote understanding.
Simulation-Based Learning
Simulations help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are among the most in-demand soft skills in the modern healthcare sector. This has long been a priority in tech-driven education, but recent advancements have made these simulations feel more immersive and realistic. They may walk students through the assessment process, revealing how clinical reasoning might play out in various patient scenarios.
Telemedicine and Remote Learning
Some patients struggle to access healthcare services due to geographic concerns or mobility limitations. In these situations, telehealth can help bridge the gap by enabling patients to discuss their concerns with physicians, nurses, or specialists when they are unable to attend appointments in person. Health education should touch on telemedicine, especially given its expanded role in the healthcare industry and its popularity among today's patients.
Health educators can help future healthcare professionals understand how to connect on a remote basis and leverage solutions like wearables or patient portals to improve patient engagement. Remote learning also influences how healthcare educators develop these pedagogical skills, as graduate-level healthcare education programs are often available entirely online.
Gamification and Interactive Learning
No matter how well-meaning their providers are or how carefully they are instructed on relevant health concerns, some patients struggle to remain fully engaged with or motivated by their treatment plans or lifestyle priorities. Gamification can keep them interested, bringing a more interactive element to tasks that might otherwise seem repetitive or mundane. Interactive elements could potentially be built into virtual patient scenarios or quiz-based efforts to improve student retention.
3D Printing in Medical Education
Additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) transforms digital models into tangible objects, but without requiring a block of material. Extensively used across diverse industries, this has made a strong impression in healthcare, namely aiding in the rapid and affordable creation of prosthetics and implants. In healthcare education, 3D printing can produce visual aids or lifelike representations that bring concepts beyond the screen to encourage a deeper understanding of critical concepts.
Big Data and Learning Analytics
Big data underscores many of the technologies making waves in healthcare education. This term describes the effort to collect and fully utilize vast data sets. In healthcare education, this could include everything from student performance (tracked via test scores or clinical simulation results) to engagement (tracked via time spent on learning platforms or participation in class activities). Learning analytics draw on this data to uncover trends or patterns, which could influence curriculum design or methods of assessment.
Blockchain for Medical Credentials
Trust forms a critical foundation throughout the healthcare sector. Employers need to trust that the clinical professionals they hire have reached a specific level of training, and patients also ideally will trust that their care is in the hands of capable, highly trained medical professionals. Unfortunately, when limited transparency or inefficient processes make it difficult to verify necessary credentials, maintaining this trust is harder to achieve.
Blockchain technology can address this increasingly common concern by offering a secure method for recording and confirming degrees, certifications, and other credentials. Immutable ledgers prevent credentials from being altered once entered into the blockchain. This, in turn, makes it easy to verify credential authenticity and could ultimately discourage professionals from falsifying academic or training accomplishments.
The Impact of Innovations on Teaching in Medicine
Innovative pedagogical practices could transform every aspect of healthcare education, ranging from college programs to clinical training, professional development, and beyond. New technologies can shape both how instruction is delivered as well as how students engage with innovative activities and materials — plus how they apply this knowledge as they move beyond the learning environment into demanding healthcare roles.
From Lecturers to Learning Facilitators
With engaging technological solutions so readily available, there is no need for students to sit passively in traditional classrooms while professors lecture them on medical theories or principles. Instead, students have the chance to get actively involved in the learning process, taking ownership over their academic progress while integrating essential skills such as critical thinking or problem-solving. This shift reflects a new ethos in which educators function less like lecturers and more like facilitators, responsible not only for guiding learners but also for empowering them to take the lead in their educational journeys.
Developing Digital Literacy
Digital literacy should be prioritized in healthcare education and when working with patients, as misinformation is unfortunately common in today's saturated digital landscape. This can be addressed with technologies that help users evaluate complex information and determine which insights are valid — and how these findings can be used to promote better health outcomes.
This priority extends to the purpose-driven use of emerging technologies in healthcare instruction. Given the high costs associated with technological upgrades, it is important to verify that these will provide a strong return on investment in the form of improved student outcomes. This is only possible if educators are well-trained in the use of advanced technologies.
As experts explain in the peer-reviewed journal Clinical Simulation in Nursing, "Any new technology utilized for teaching can only be as effective as the people conceptualizing, designing and implementing it." This means that instructors must be fully engaged in the purposeful design of tech-driven applications or solutions to ensure that they align with pedagogical best practices.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Today's educators work closely with many knowledgeable professionals to refine their pedagogical practices and, in turn, improve student experiences. Interprofessional education (IPE) is increasingly a priority, revealing how experts from various professions can intentionally come together to share their diverse knowledge while collaborating to improve their understanding of evidence-based practice and patient-centered care.
IPE can play a powerful role in facilitating technological advancement. It helps educators understand how different types of professionals leverage emerging technologies in their day-to-day practice. This corresponds with a current, industry-wide paradigm shift from uni-professional education to a more purposefully collaborative approach.
H2: Lead the Change in Healthcare Education: Explore Exciting Trends and Technologies
As you prepare for a future in healthcare education, be mindful of technological developments and their expanded impact on pedagogical practices. Texas A&M University can help you understand how these solutions work and how they can improve student (and, ultimately, patient) outcomes. Our Education for Healthcare Professionals (EDHP) programs leverage cutting-edge technologies and demonstrate how these can be unleashed in training programs and in the healthcare sector. Reach out or apply today to learn more.
Sources
https://medicine.tamu.edu/degrees/edhp.html
https://catalog.tamu.edu/graduate/course-descriptions/edhp/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36751881/
https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-022-01018-6
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7525398/
https://www.nursingsimulation.org/article/S1876-1399(24)00140-3/fulltext
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11283339/