June In This Issue

Abstract

This paper explores the global landscape of health professions education research, focusing on the role of language as a bridge that facilitates connections within research teams, between the team and its participants, and between participants from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and the scientific community. It critically examines cross-language qualitative studies, highlighting the dominance of English in the health professions education literature. The discussion highlights methodological challenges, such as potential biases in translated qualitative data, and highlights the lack of standards for translation in qualitative research. The authors argue for the development of rigorous procedures and best practices for cross-language research within the medical education community, emphasising the importance of giving voice to participants across languages, cultures and contexts.

Schumann, M, Dennis, A, Leduc, J-M, Peters, H. Translating cross-language qualitative data in health professions education research; Is there an iceberg below the waterline? Med Educ. 2025;59(6):589-595. doi: 10.1111/medu.15563.

Emotions, often sidelined in medical education, can drive learning and support equity and justice. This study reviews how emotions influence equity-related pedagogy across professions, finding that while medicine and nursing use emotions to prompt cognitive dissonance and skill-building, teacher education emphasizes emotions as foundational for community, trust, and empathy, fostering personal and social change. Findings suggest the need for further research exploring how social and political contexts affect emotional expression and fostering professional development for faculty to effectively facilitate emotional aspects of teaching and learning.

Sukhera, J, Atkinson, T, Hendrikx, S, Kennedy, E, Panza, M. Rodger, S, Watling, C. Pedagogies of Discomfort and Disruption: A Meta-narrative Review of Emotions and Equity Related Pedagogy. Med Educ. 2025;59(6):581-588. doi:10.1111/medu.15603.

Meaningful supervisor-resident relationships enhance feedback and learning, yet not all relationships reach this potential. While there is increasing interest in continuity of supervision (CoS) to build relationships that support feedback and learning, there remains a lack of in-depth understanding of how such relationships impact supervisor and resident perceptions of feedback and assessment. The aim of this study was to explore how supervisors and learners in post-graduate medical education perceive CoS relationships. The findings contribute to understanding the impact of episodic and continuous relationships on feedback and assessment and extend the conceptualization of the supervisor-resident relationship within the educational alliance framework.

Lee, A, Jere, A, Du Plessis, L, Van Gerven, P, Heeneman, S, Ross, S. Continuity of supervision: Balancing continuous and episodic relationships for assessment and learning. Med Educ. 2025;59(6):596-605. doi: 10.1111/medu.15595.

Stratification within higher education systems is a persistent barrier for students from Minority Serving Institutions seeking admission to medical schools, and COVID-19 exacerbated system inequities. A study of 328 488 applications to U.S. MD programs from 2017 to 2023 highlights this issue, revealing that MSI applicants face 42% to 52% lower odds of acceptance, but emphasizing GPA and MCAT reduces or reverses these odds. Despite persistent systemic barriers, strengthening pathways and institutional relationships can enhance diversity and inclusion in the physician workforce, ultimately benefiting patient care and scientific advancement.

Burbage, A, Hewitt, E. Exploring Institutional Stratification: Minority Serving Institutional Pathways to Medical School Acceptance in the United States. Med Educ. 2025;59(6):640-651. doi: 10.1111/medu.15539.