https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/ Medical Education Bulletin en daily 1 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_228215.html Background: Clinical education is vital for training competent healthcare professionals. In Iran, numerous obstacles hinder quality training and practical skill development. This study aims to identify key challenges in clinical medical education and proposes practical, evidence-based strategies to improve its effectiveness and overall quality.Materials and Methods: This narrative review involved a comprehensive literature search conducted independently by two reviewers using both Persian and English keywords, including "challenges of clinical education," "medical education," and "quality of clinical education." The search covered reputable databases up to April 2025, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, SID, CIVILICA, and Google Scholar. Relevant data were systematically extracted, analyzed, and categorized into key themes encompassing challenges, impacts, and solutions in clinical medical education.Results: Clinical medical education in Iran faces multiple interconnected challenges that undermine its overall quality. These challenges include overcrowded and inadequately equipped clinical environments, curricula that lack alignment with practical clinical needs, and weakened faculty-student relationships that negatively affect motivation and engagement. Insufficient educational infrastructure further impedes effective training in evidence-based medicine. Additionally, assessment methods predominantly emphasize rote memorization rather than promoting critical thinking and practical skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has also further limited clinical access. Addressing these issues calls for comprehensive reforms focused on improving infrastructure, modernizing curricula through competency-based training, enhancing faculty development with an emphasis on mentorship and psychological support, implementing structured communication tools, and strengthening academic-clinical collaborations.Conclusion: Clinical medical education in Iran faces challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, misaligned curricula, weak faculty-student communication, and outdated assessment methods. Improving infrastructure, emphasizing practical skills, enhancing support systems, and adopting competency-based assessments are essential to elevate education quality, prepare competent healthcare professionals, and promote community health. https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_228923.html Background: Medical education requires innovative approaches to enhance critical thinking, decision-making, and ethical reasoning. The "hot seat" method simulates real-time clinical and ethical scenarios, promoting rapid analysis. This study aims to review its applications, benefits, limitations, and challenges to improve educational quality and clinical skill development.Materials and Methods: This narrative review conducted a comprehensive literature search using English and Persian terms such as hot seat, medical education, critical thinking, clinical decision-making, ethical reasoning, simulation-based learning, interactive teaching, problem-solving, and student engagement. Searches across Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science, PubMed, SID, CIVILICA, and Google Scholar up to April 2025 were screened by two independent reviewers. Extracted data were qualitatively analyzed to identify key themes.Results: The evidence review shows that the "hot seat" method has significant potential to enhance medical students’ critical thinking, clinical decision-making, and ethical reasoning. Its advantages include increased confidence in decision-making, enhanced active participation, improved communication skills, and bridging theory with clinical practice. However, challenges such as anxiety induction, unequal student participation, high resource requirements, and possible negative experiences exist. Implementation obstacles include insufficient faculty training, institutional limitations, and variability in facilitation quality. This method is applied across pathology, dental, allied health, and general medical education. To optimize its use, gradual introduction, creation of safe learning environments, encouragement of peer support, integration of technology, continuous feedback collection, and comprehensive facilitator training are recommended.Conclusion: The "hot seat" method enhances critical thinking, decision-making, and ethical reasoning by engaging students in realistic scenarios. It promotes active learning and bridges theory with practice but faces challenges such as student anxiety, resource demands, and faculty training. Gradual implementation and supportive strategies can optimize its effectiveness. https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_229849.html Dear Editor-in-Chief,Optometry education is a fundamental pillar of the eye health care system, playing an essential role in elevating service quality and improving public health outcomes. Although Iran’s optometry curriculum has made significant scientific and professional strides, targeted reforms are crucial to achieve full alignment with international standards. This article critically evaluates Iran’s optometry curriculum through the framework of global competency models, highlighting its strengths and pinpointing areas in need of enhancement. Current evidence shows that the curriculum offers a well-structured program, encompassing comprehensive basic and specialized courses that equip students with foundational knowledge. Nevertheless, urgent efforts are required to expand clinical training opportunities, enhance multicultural education, and integrate cutting-edge educational technologies. In addition, advancing competency-based assessment frameworks, increasing curriculum flexibility, and strengthening international collaborations are vital strategies to further elevate educational quality. https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_230006.html Background: Nurses, both students and professionals, need strong ethical competence for patient care. Traditional ethics education lacks practical application, prompting interest in narrative ethics education using storytelling. This study systematically reviews research on narrative ethics education for nursing students and nurses in Iran to assess its effectiveness and challenges.Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted by searching Persian and English literature up to April 2025 in databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, SID, and CIVILICA. Search terms included “medical ethics,” “narrative,” “education,” “medical sciences,” “medicine,” “nursing,” and “Iran.” Two independent researchers screened studies. Quality was assessed with the modified JADAD scale and JBI Critical Appraisal Tool.Results: This systematic review of five studies involving 319 nursing from various Iranian cities (Yazd, Tehran, Birjand) demonstrated that narrative ethics education significantly improves ethical intelligence, sensitivity, empathy, and respect for patient privacy. The positive effects were sustained for up to two months post-intervention. Both virtual and face-to-face delivery methods were effective in enhancing students’ professional behavior, communication skills, and overall ethical competence. While some studies reported no significant differences compared to traditional lecture-based methods, narrative education consistently showed greater improvements in ethical sensitivity. By engaging students with patient stories and moral dilemmas, this educational approach fosters deeper moral insight and reflective thinking, making it a flexible and practical strategy for nursing ethics education.Conclusion: Narrative ethics education effectively boosts nursing students' ethical awareness, empathy, and professional behavior. Its flexible delivery, both virtual and in-person, prepares students to face clinical ethical challenges. Combining narrative and lecture methods enhances nurses' patient advocacy, making it a comprehensive strategy in nursing education. https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_232674.html Background: Feedback is essential for advancing learning, educational quality, and student achievement. As higher education continues to expand, students’ ability to interpret and apply feedback—referred to as Student Feedback Literacy (SFL)—has become increasingly critical. This study reviews and synthesizes national and international research on SFL, examining its theoretical foundations, key challenges, and implications for enhancing learning quality through training and technology.Materials and Methods: This narrative review synthesizes studies on student feedback literacy in higher education. Relevant literature published up to April 2025 was searched in Web of Science, ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, covering both English and Persian sources. Data collection and screening were independently performed by two researchers in two stages. Empirical studies with full-text availability were selected for qualitative synthesis and thematic analysis.Results: Findings demonstrate that student feedback literacy (SFL) integrates interrelated knowledge, skills, and attitudes that empower learners to interpret, evaluate, and apply feedback effectively for continuous improvement. Four core dimensions—valuing feedback, critical judgment, emotional regulation, and purposeful action—collectively foster learner autonomy and engagement. Consistent, dialogic, and formative feedback enhances self-regulation, motivation, and academic achievement. Yet, inadequate training, inconsistent quality, and cultural or institutional constraints limit full development. Strengthening teachers’ feedback literacy, employing digital tools that support interactive and traceable feedback, and implementing structured peer-feedback systems are critical strategies for advancing sustainable feedback cultures in higher education.Conclusion: Feedback literacy enhances students’ ability to interpret and utilize feedback, leading to improved learning outcomes. Integrating targeted training programs, institutional support, and digital technologies—alongside teacher and peer contributions—can cultivate a robust feedback culture that supports continuous learning improvement across higher education contexts. https://www.medicaleducation-bulletin.ir/article_235703.html Background: Managing unexpected classroom situations—sudden questions, sensitive discussions, behavioral disruptions—is a fundamental challenge in modern education, transforming controlled classrooms into dynamic, unpredictable spaces. This review examines management strategies, emphasizing effective teacher-student interaction's key role in enhancing learning processes.Materials and Methods: This narrative review systematically searched Persian and English literature up to March 2025. Keywords focused on unexpected classroom situations, classroom management, teacher skills, teacher-student interaction, and active learning. The databases searched included SID, Magiran, CIVILICA, PubMed, ERIC, Scopus, and Web of Science. Screening involved two phases—title/abstract and full-text—conducted independently by two researchers. Study quality was assessed using the STROBE checklist.Results: This review demonstrated that managing unexpected classroom situations is essential, as teachers' rapid, flexible responses preserve student focus and motivation. Challenges—disruptive behaviors, diverse needs, sudden questions, sensitive topics—are effectively managed through enhanced emotional intelligence, strengthening communication, alleviating stress, and fostering psychological safety. Key strategies include active interaction, clear behavioral rules, interactive teaching methods, positive reinforcement, and time management. Paired with cognitive flexibility and specialized training, these prepare teachers for complex conditions, boosting intrinsic motivation, active participation, and effective learning environments. Emotional skills training and organizational support further enhance classroom management. Conclusion: Managing unexpected classroom situations like sudden questions or disruptions is vital for maintaining focus and learning quality. Quick, flexible teacher responses transform challenges into opportunities, boosting motivation. Active interaction, clear rules, interactive teaching, positive feedback, and time management enhance classroom environments. Emotional intelligence facilitates emotion control and better stress decisions. Training with psychological/organizational support creates safe, effective learning spaces.