Innovation in ethics pedagogy has continued to evolve and incorporate other forms of storytelling aimed at improving student engagement and learning. The use of bioethics narratives in feature-length films, medical television shows, or short clips in the classroom has a well-established history. In parallel, screenplays present an opportunity for an active approach to ethical engagement. We argue that screenplays and screenwriting provide a rich supplement to current medical ethics teaching and serve as a strong form of reflective learning.

In May 2023, the world’s first whole-eye and partial-face transplant was performed, representing the first known whole-eye transplant in history and the “only successful combined transplant case of...

As medical ethics and professionalism education continues to equip medical students and residents with long-lasting tools, educators should continue to supplement proven teaching strategies with engaging, relatable, and generationally appropriate didactic supplements. However, popular teaching aids have recently been criticized in the literature and summative information on alternatives is absent. The purpose of this review is to evaluate and assess the functional use and application of short form audiovisual didactic supplements or "icebreakers" in medical ethics and professionalism teaching. A systematic (...) review of both the medical and humanities literature (i.e., PubMed/medline, Cochrane Library, and JSTOR) was conducted from inception to August 1, 2019. Final articles were subjected to a qualitative appraisal and thematic analysis. Thirteen articles were included for final analysis. Sixty-nine percent (n = 9) of the studies were published after 2000. Two studies were qualitative, one study was quantitative, and the remaining articles were commentaries. Short form audiovisual media was most popular outside of the United States (n = 10). Sixty-nine percent (n = 9) of articles advocated for self-contained media in the form of trigger films or short films/videos, while the remaining articles (n = 4) discussed the use of TV/film clips. Producibility of media was exclusive to short/trigger films. Nine themes were identified in the content analysis: adaptability, conversation catalyst, effective, engaging, nuance, practice, producibility, real, and subject diversity. The three most common themes in descending order of frequency were: conversation catalyst, realness, and adaptability. Trigger films represent an effective and unique pedagogical strategy in supplementing current medical ethics and professionalism teaching at the medical school level. (shrink)