ArticleBMC medical education2026
Development, implementation, and evaluation of the Student Optimized Learning Environment (SOLE): a longitudinal team-based communication skills curriculum for medical students.
Article in BMC medical education, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTeamwork and effective communication are essential for delivering high-quality patient care. In clinical contexts, successful teamwork depends on strong interpersonal and communication skills, making their development a critical component of undergraduate medical education.
methodsTo strengthen medical students’ teamwork abilities, we developed a longitudinal, team-based communication skills curriculum. Guided by Kern’s six-step framework, we designed a small-group–based program to foster team communication, promote collaborative learning, and build feedback skills. The Student Optimized Learning Environment (SOLE) curriculum consisted of nine sessions in which students applied communication frameworks, engaged in structured reflection, and participated in case-based scenario discussions. Participants completed a curricular evaluation that included survey items and free-response questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative comments underwent thematic analysis.
resultsSOLE was implemented as a required curriculum for all medical students at a single academic medical school between 2019 and 2022. Of 174 participating students, 138 (79%) completed evaluations. Students’ responses indicated that SOLE helped them reflect on and understand team dynamics (mean = 3.74, SD = 0.9; 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), practice relationship-centered communication skills (3.72, 0.9), and learn (3.74, 0.9) and practice (3.69, 0.9) feedback skills. Qualitatively, students described applying skills to real-life situations, working with peers, and debriefing challenging team experiences as valued aspects of the curriculum.
conclusionSOLE is a longitudinal, team-based communication skills curriculum aimed at fostering teamwork, feedback, and reflection within peer learning groups. Preliminary curricular evaluation indicated that SOLE offered a structured opportunity for students to engage with communication frameworks and explore strategies for effective team-based learning.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.