Images have always been valuable for teaching medicine. A 2018 study found that just two weeks of image-based e-learning can substantially improve diagnostic accuracy among students. Diagnostic accuracy rose from 34.5% to 72.7% for third-year medical students without any prior experience in interpreting chest radiography.
For visuals to truly help with understanding and memory, both students and instructors must treat them as more than simple illustrations. In the real world, medical practitioners don’t simply memorize a generalized diagram to reach a prognosis. Passively observing and processing images does not effectively enable students to contextualize information and apply it to real-life situations.
Students should actively explore images instead. A visual becomes a true learning tool when fully integrated into the learning experience. When students are asked to interpret visuals, they’re making connections between the information presented to them.
This is where technology comes in. Digital learning tools can help educators boost engagement and knowledge retention in their classrooms. This is a recurring theme in feedback from medical educators who use these digital learning tools. The combination of interactive image-based features in learning tools with clinical reasoning is emerging as an essential component of modern medical education.
Key Challenges In Existing Teaching Practices
Traditional teaching methods in medicine are known to heavily rely on memorization. These approaches tend to overload a student’s working memory. As the Cognitive Load Theory showcases, students end up struggling to retain knowledge over time.
Moreover, learning isn’t just about memorizing complex diagrams. The Dual-Coding Theory, developed by Allan Paivio (Mental Representations, 1986), demonstrates how text alongside images activates two distinct memory channels, reinforcing information retention. For this to work, individuals must actively engage with the visual. Whether comparing, locating, categorizing, or explaining, students must take some form of active cognitive action so that an image becomes a valuable learning tool.
Gaps in the traditional use of images in pedagogy are highlighted once students enter hospitals and clinics. Diagnosing real-life patients isn’t simply built on passive observation and the clean lines of anatomy illustrations. Diagnostic skills honed by critical and engaged thinking are also crucial, not only making trainees stronger students but also better clinicians.
Nurturing these skills among medical practitioners can help medical centers reduce diagnostic errors. According to a recent study, one in 14 patients risks being misdiagnosed, with 85% of these cases considered preventable. The researchers highlight that strengthening diagnostic thinking is essential for improving physician performance and patient care.
From Passively Observing To Proactively Diagnosing
Importantly, cognitive thinking and engaged reasoning are fundamental to effective diagnostic thinking. With technology, medical students can more actively participate in their learning and develop practical decision-making abilities. Using image-based tools alongside clinical reasoning supports students in contextualizing information and sharpening critical thinking.
For example, at the Université de Limoges Faculty of Medicine in France, instructors introduced image-based interactions to teach diagnostic skills to a group of over 200 students. These students worked through ambiguous clinical questions using peer instruction and visual supports, followed by group discussions to review their reasoning. This comparative approach helped them analyze competing diagnoses and refine their thinking while enhancing their connection to the unique cases at hand.
As Vincent Guigonis, a medical educator at the university, explains: “This is how real physicians think: weighing hypotheses based on evidence and shifting opinions through peer discussion.” Guigonis specializes in clinical reasoning and active learning methods that simulate real-life diagnostic processes through peer instruction. His programs focus on large-cohort, case-based learning and script concordance tests (SCTs), a tool developed by Bernard Charlin, a professor of surgery at the University of Montreal.
A similar approach was adopted at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences in Canada. Educators use interactive tools to blend image-based features like “Label an Image” and “Matching Questions” with visuals across 15 courses per semester. These activities help students learn equipment identification and functions. Instructors have noted the ease of implementing a preview mode to see content from students’ perspectives, as well as learning checkpoints to monitor progress and ensure comprehension.
Looking Ahead
Traditional teaching methods like comparison, multiple-choice questions, in-person lectures, and repetition still have value for medical students. They can be enhanced by combining image-based digital tools and clinical reasoning to increase engagement and understanding.
These digital tools ultimately ease students’ transition between the classroom and clinic. They’re also bridging the gap between images and action. Technology can help students understand the reasoning and context behind an image, not simply view it as an illustration.
Rethinking the role of images in medical education is not just about making content more engaging. It’s about empowering students to make better judgments for their patients.
