The promise of a health professions education imagination

Context Social factors play a key role in health professions education and are thus a foundational topic that medical trainees must be taught. Although medical educators have discussed the best ways to teach these concepts for decades, there are still significant barriers to full incorporation of 'the social' into medical training. Framework Building upon previous scholarship in medical education, the author argues for the development in trainees of a 'health professions education imagination' or a unique 'quality of mind' that facilitates navigating competing ways of knowing. This concept borrows explicitly from 'the sociological imagination', which is briefly described. Next, some of the principles of thinking that might contribute to a similar 'imagination' in health professions education are identified. Finally, exemplars are provided highlighting how recent scholars have used their health professions education imaginations in recent research and teaching practice. Implications The health professions education imagination provides a useful framework to help guide clinical and research trainees to integrate the epistemologically diverse forms of knowledge they are exposed to and to break down the silos that these forms of knowledge are commonly taught within.

Automated summary

This article explores the importance of social factors in medical education and proposes the concept of cultivating a "health professions education imagination" in trainees. This imagination helps trainees navigate diverse forms of knowledge and break down common knowledge silos.