Concept mapping to promote clinical reasoning in multimorbidity: a mixed methods study in undergraduate family medicine

Background: Clinical reasoning significantly impacts physicians’ performance and patient care quality. Research into learning transfer within clinical reasoning education, especially in managing multimorbidity in Family Medicine, is crucial. This study evaluates the impact of concept maps (CMs) on promoting clinical reasoning skills among undergraduate students, compared to traditional teaching methods (TM). Methods: A mixed methods approach was used in a controlled, non-randomized study with fifth-year Family Medicine undergraduates allocated to sessions using either CMs or TM. Quantitative data included a feedback questionnaire and evaluation of an individual task. Qualitative data comprised responses to an open-ended question and analysis of problem representation in the individual task. Results: Among 313 eligible students, 112 participated (CM: 60, TM: 52). Both groups reported high satisfaction with their teaching methods. The CM group valued the holistic view and organization for managing multimorbidity cases, showing higher odds of positive scores on individual tasks (differences not statistically significant). Additionally, the CM group had a more homogeneous code matrix for problem representation in two clinical vignettes. Conclusions: While no definitive evidence supports the superiority of CMs over traditional methods, promising trends were noted. The CM group showed improved performance in individual tasks and better organization in managing multimorbidity cases. Further investigation is recommended to explore varying levels of CM usage and modifications to pre-class workloads. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.