The Use of Micro-Credentials in Health Professions Education: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
• Educational Technology

Background:

• Traditional continuing professional development (CPD) methods often fall short in enhancing healthcare professional competencies and performance.
• Micro-credentials present a flexible, personalized alternative to traditional CPD, but their design, implementation, and evaluation in health professions education remain underexplored.
• Given significant investment in micro-credentials, understanding their educational value is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize the literature on health-related micro-credentials.
• To examine instructional design, pedagogical underpinnings, assessment strategies, and reported impacts of micro-credentials in health professions education.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
• Systematic searches of seven databases and a structured grey literature review.
• Inclusion of 19 peer-reviewed papers and 35 websites detailing health-related micro-credentials.

Main Results:

• Most studies were recent (2024), US-based, and descriptive, with limited pedagogical theory cited.
• Instructional design varied, but assessment predominantly used summative methods (e.g., knowledge checks), neglecting higher-level competency evaluation.
• Reported outcomes focused on knowledge, confidence, and engagement, without clear evidence of micro-credentials' unique value as a teaching modality.

Conclusions:

• Current literature provides limited evaluation and theory-informed design for micro-credentials in health professions.
• A potential pedagogical foundation aligned with constructivist, context-sensitive, and stage-based principles can inform future micro-credential program development.