An overview of systematic reviews in medical education and a focused review in prescribing

Green, K.E.; Taylor, C.A.; Torgerson, C.

Abstract

Background: Tertiary reviews (review of reviews) in medical education tend to focus on doctors, continuing education and professional practice. This paper provides a tertiary review of all areas of medical education at all levels. An in-depth focus on prescribing is included. Methods and results: A systematic search using the keywords ‘medical education’ AND (‘systematic review’ OR ‘meta-analysis’) yielded 187 reviews. Reviews were coded by intervention, curriculum/theme, participants and outcomes, creating a systematic map. The most popular interventions and curriculum were simulation (9%) and prescribing (7%), respectively. Most reviews included multiple participant types (68%) and sought patient/health outcomes (64%). Twelve prescribing reviews included in the in-depth review found active educational strategies more effective than passive strategies. Discussion: The systematic map highlights topics and interventions, but further research should explore the cost-effectiveness of the reviews themselves. Prescribing reviews tend to focus on doctors; more research into the acquisition of prescribing skills by students/junior doctors is required.

Citation

Green, K., Taylor, C., & Torgerson, C. (2012). An overview of systematic reviews in medical education and a focused review in prescribing. Effective education, 4(2), 147-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415532.2013.836779

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 31, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2012
• Deposit Date: Sep 26, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 8, 2015
• Journal: Effective Education
• Print ISSN: 1941-5532
• Electronic ISSN: 1941-5540
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 4
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 147-167
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19415532.2013.836779
• Keywords: Medical education, Systematic review, Systematic mapping, Prescribing.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1449474