Review of content, teaching, and evaluation methods of immunology for medical students: A systematic review

The traditional immunology course mainly involves lectures and activities outside of the lectures, which prevents any links between basic knowledge and clinical practice. In this systematic review, we aimed to assess and summarize teaching methods of immunology for medical students in top universities of the world. This study adhered to the Joanna Briggs Institute manual for systematic reviews in conducting this study. The following databases were searched: PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, ProQuest, and the Cochrane Library. After selecting papers, appraising them, and extracting all findings from papers, these findings were categorized based on their concepts and similarities. We summarized and presented the findings in the narrative form. Of 34 articles and abstracts identified, 23 underwent full-text review, and nine were included in this systematic review. The studies involved a total of 2023 students and teachers and five immunology teaching methods. The teaching methods were patient-oriented problem-solving, case-based learning, e-learning packages, audio-visual modules, and clinical simulations. Based on our findings, all new methods of immunology teaching for medical students performed better than dialectic and board lectures. The use of active learning in immunology teaching of medical students will encourage them to learn more actively, which can ultimately increase their clinical performance at their school and in clinical environments.