Designing effective clinical education spaces: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Design
• Medical Education
• Built Environment Studies

Background:

• Clinical education is vital for health professional students.
• Current health facility design often overlooks student learning needs.
• Evidence-based design can enhance student learning and facility value.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the literature on considering health professional students' education in health facility design.
• To identify existing evidence and gaps regarding student learning in healthcare facility planning.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's Guidelines.
• Searches included terms related to health facilities, design, students, and education across multiple databases.
• Forty articles published between 1963 and 2023 were included.

Main Results:

• Most literature originates from North America and the UK, with limited original research.
• Medical students are the most frequently discussed group.
• Key design elements supporting learning include space, building features, and furnishings, but evaluation is scarce.

Conclusions:

• There is a significant lack of published evidence on integrating student learning into health facility design.
• Collaboration between educators, administrators, and design professionals is crucial.
• Documenting and publishing these collaborations will build an evidence base for intentional integration of learning in clinical settings.