SynthesisBMC medical education2014
Medical students as peer tutors: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC medical education, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 135 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
135 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses in Health Literacy among Medical Students: A Systematic Review.BMC medical education · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of peer-assisted learning on examination performance in clinical knowledge and skills education.BMC medical education · 2022Pooled it
- Peer teacher training for health professional students: a systematic review of formal programs.BMC medical education · 2018Pooled it
- Near-peers effectively teach clinical documentation skills to early medical students.BMC medical education · 2022Trial
- Effectivity of near-peer teaching in training of basic surgical skills - a randomized controlled trial.BMC medical education · 2021Trial
- Outcomes of three different ways to train medical students as ultrasound tutors.BMC medical education · 2019Trial
- Effects on postgraduate-year-I residents of simulation-based learning compared to traditional lecture-style education led by postgraduate-year-II residents: a pilot study.BMC medical education · 2019Trial
- Evaluation of the role of near-peer teaching in critical appraisal skills learning: a randomized crossover trial.International journal of medical education · 2019Trial
- Medical students can teach communication skills - a mixed methods study of cross-year peer tutoring.BMC medical education · 2017Trial
- Profiling Human-AI Regulatory Support in Technology-Enhanced Interprofessional Education Among Health Professions Students: Person-Centered Exploratory Study.JMIR medical education · 2026Article
- Perceived changes in innovation and entrepreneurship competency among medical students following peer-assisted learning: an exploratory study of implementation fidelity.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Hybrid Physical Examination: Integrating Peer Feedback with Standardized Patient Encounters.Medical science educator · 2026Article
- Near-Peer Teaching to Integrate Anatomical Imaging into the Medical School Curriculum.Medical science educator · 2026Article
- The CHIRO-Force peer-assisted learning program for manual therapy education.The Journal of chiropractic education · 2026Article
- Effects of digital versus face-to-face peer support on clinical skills: a three-arm randomized trial.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Developing early-career clinical educators - a qualitative study of a pedagogical internship track for junior doctors in Sweden.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Point-of-care ultrasound training using near-peer training and remote Supervision: A pilot randomized controlled trial.The ultrasound journal · 2026Article
- Assessing the Transferability of Peer-Assisted Ultrasound Training for Medical Students: A Comparative Study Between Two Institutions in Germany and the UK.Clinical anatomy (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Club Activity, Study Groups, and Academic Achievement: A Nationwide Study of Japanese Medical Students' Extracurricular Life.Journal of general and family medicine · 2026Article
75 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhile Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) has long occurred informally in medical education, in the past ten years, there has been increasing international interest in formally organised PAL, with many benefits for both the students and institutions. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to establish why and how PAL has been implemented, focussing on the recruitment and training process for peer tutors, the benefits for peer tutors, and the competency of peer tutors.
methodA literature search was conducted in three electronic databases. Selection of titles and abstracts were made based on pre-determined eligibility criteria. We utilized the 'AMEE Peer assisted learning: a planning and implementation framework: AMEE Guide no. 30' to assist us in establishing the review aims in a systematic review of the literature between 2002 and 2012. Six key questions were developed and used in our analysis of particular aspects of PAL programs within medical degree programs.
resultsWe found nineteen articles that satisfied our inclusion criteria. The PAL activities fell into three broad categories of teacher training, peer teaching and peer assessment. Variability was found in the reporting of tutor recruitment and training processes, tutor outcomes, and tutor competencies.
conclusionResults from this review suggest that there are many perceived learning benefits for student tutors. However, there were mixed results regarding the accuracy of peer assessment and feedback, and no substantial evidence to conclude that participation as a peer tutor improves one's own examination performance. Further research into PAL in medicine is required if we are to better understand the relative impact and benefits for student tutors.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.