Actionable companion · Motivation & engagement

Learning with agency: Participatory Design Approach in the Use of Scenario Analysis for Futureproofing Medical Education: Case Study

AI-assisted editorial implementation guide, separate from the original research. Proposed actions are not claims or recommendations attributed to the source authors. No independent peer review of this guide is asserted.

Evidence and context

Title and abstract screening; stage labels describe reported settings, not verified numerical ages. Design labels require full-text appraisal. Reported stage(s): Age / stage not established. Health-professions learning must be distinguished from K–12 instruction.

Original authors’ abstract, reproduced under the linked source license:

Abstract Background Medical education must evolve to prepare health care professionals for a rapidly changing world. Beyond digital literacy, clinicians must develop new competencies to navigate global megatrends, including shifting disease burden, technological advancements, climate change, and demographic shifts. The future job market will introduce novel roles, and educational institutions must remain adaptable to meet the evolving motivations and expectations of students. Megatrends, broad, transformative forces shaping societies, present both challenges and opportunities for health care education. Objective The present work seeks to understand the implications of megatrends for medical education and explore the use of scenario analysis for curriculum design. Methods A participatory design approach was employed to conduct a scenario analysis workshop at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Medicine in October 2024. Digital connectivity and climate change were selected as key drivers. Participants included medical educators, policymakers, clinicians, and students. Interactive methods such as group discussions, structured boards, and physical cards were utilized to facilitate data collection. Insights were analyzed thematically to identify critical competencies, mindsets, and structural requirements for future medical education. Results The scenario analysis revealed key competencies and mindsets necessary for future health care professionals. Essential competencies included complex adaptive systems thinking, patient-centeredness, continuous learning, and participatory health, while essential mindsets encompassed sustainability, prevention-focused care, and technological adaptability. Cross-scenario reflections highlighted the increasing need for interdisciplinary collaboration, ethical leadership, and curriculum flexibility. Actionable steps were identified, including integrating sustainability and digital health into curricula, fostering emotional intelligence in student selection, and incorporating adaptive learning models. Conclusions This study demonstrates the value of participatory design in shaping medical education to align with global megatrends. The findings align with existing foresight research by organizations such as the World Health Organization and the European Commission, emphasizing the need for health care professionals to balance technological proficiency with human-centered care. While the study was limited to a single institutional setting, its insights provide a framework for other medical schools to anticipate future challenges and proactively reform curricula. Future research should explore multi-institutional applications and longitudinal studies to validate these findings.

A 90-day district pilot

1. Days 1–15 · Appraise. Have the curriculum lead and a teacher read the methods and limitations. Record the study design, sample, comparator, outcomes and evidence gaps. Define a local question that the study can help inform.
2. Days 16–30 · Design. Treat the paper as background evidence until its population is verified in the full text. Do not assign an age-specific intervention or extend adult results to children. Name an accountable owner and set the baseline, success threshold and budget before implementation.
3. Days 31–60 · Test. Start with a small voluntary cohort, preserve an accessible non-AI route and require teacher review. Use synthetic or de-identified examples; approve data handling and tool terms through district processes.
4. Days 61–90 · Decide. Extract the participant ages or education stage, recruitment, task and comparator before selecting a local pilot. If these cannot be established, retain the paper for design discussion rather than age-band efficacy claims. Compare with baseline, document uncertainty and stop or revise if learning worsens, access is unequal or critical errors persist.

The board decision brief

Report the learning problem, evidence quality, participating population, total cost including review time, measured benefit, errors, access differences and remaining uncertainties. Make a dated recommendation to stop, revise or expand. A positive perception survey alone does not establish learning improvement.

Attribution and reuse

Guido Giunti; Ronan Glynn; Jack Hennessy; Colin P Doherty. Participatory Design Approach in the Use of Scenario Analysis for Futureproofing Medical Education: Case Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research (2025-09-23). https://doi.org/10.2196/73173

Companion prepared 2026-10-30. Original authorship and DOI are preserved. The abstract is an attributed source extract; the implementation plan is new AI-assisted editorial material, offered under the same CC BY 4.0 license. This guide has not undergone independent peer review.