Leveraging learning management systems in medical education: a scoping review of use, outcomes, and improvement...

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have been increasingly adopted in medical education, serving both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. These platforms are used for various educational purposes, including content delivery, skill development, surgical procedure demonstrations, case-based discussions, and assessments. Despite this, the extent of use and the perceived effectiveness of LMS in medical education remain unclear. Therefore, we planned to conduct a review to explore the usage patterns and the potential benefits of LMS in medical schools. The methodological framework introduced by Arksey and O'Malley was used to conduct this scoping review. Electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and ProQuest were searched for randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials (quasi-experimental studies, pretest-posttest designs) and observational studies that considered the effect of LMS in medical schools. The database search and screening process led to the identification of a limited number of studies that met the inclusion criteria and were subsequently included in the qualitative synthesis. The LMS's used across different medical schools catered to either undergraduate or postgraduate programs. These platforms were employed for a variety of purposes, including content delivery, skill-based teaching, surgical procedure demonstrations, case discussions, and assessments. Student feedback was collected in ten studies, while faculty feedback was reported in only one study. Given that LMS platforms are more likely to benefit students with intrinsic motivation and self-regulated learning behaviors, several studies proposed strategies to enhance LMS utility. These included the use of learning analytics to monitor student engagement and learning patterns, to provide timely feedback and personalised support.