Iranian Journal of Medical Education

Introduction: Along with the transition from the digital era to the era of cyber-technology, medical professionals have been forced to use different conceptual systems to meet their informational and communicational needs. These emerging scientific concepts each have specific meaning which should be redefined in their own context so that they could be utilized in the conceptual systems of specialized sciences including medical education. The aim of this study was to examine critically the conceptual system emerged from the changes of technology-based learning in the medical education system and to propose the concept of cyber medical education in the medical learning system.

Methods: This semi-systematic review study was conducted in 2015 with a critical approach. The databases of PubMed Central and Google Scholar were searched for publications from 1980-2015 using the keywords “information and communication technology, medical education, educational technology, technology-based learning, cyber learning, medical informatics”.

Results: Integration of the concepts and terms of informatics and learning sciences has introduced a wide range of terminology into the scientific cycle. The extent and diversity of concepts in field of technology-based medical education have made it difficult to manage scientific contents. This paper suggested the institutionalization of the concept “cyber” at different levels of the medical education system for the purpose of medical knowledge management in the contemporary era and development of a specialized conceptual system for the next generation of physicians and other health professionals.

Conclusion: Critical thinking and adoption of smart approaches are essential for reviewing and even redefining some of the technology-based concepts in the field of medical education ranging from basic concepts to designing, shaping and developing future scientific centers such as virtual medical universities.