Interprofessional education (IPE) fosters knowledge, skills, and attitudes related to interprofessional collaboration (IPC) for safe, quality patient care. In recent years, the importance of IPC has extended beyond the medical field to local community settings. However, IPE has only recently been introduced and has yet to become widespread. This study reviews the origin and development of IPE in Korean medical education by comparing it with established models in other countries that provide useful insights into future directions for IPE in Korea. Dedicated institutions led the IPE effort in other countries; however, IPE initiatives in Korea were mainly driven by individual professors' and medical schools' interest and commitment, without structural support systems. An important finding of this study is that the lack of awareness and organizational support within the medical education community resulted in the absence of a mandatory curriculum for IPE, as it was omitted from the accreditation standards. For more organized adoption and implementation of IPE in Korea, this study suggests the need to widely communicate the importance of IPE to the medical community and the public. It is also imperative to establish leadership capable of guiding IPE, share materials through trusted institutions with IPE experience, and include IPE in the accreditation standards. These steps are essential for actively implementing IPE and meeting societal healthcare needs in Korea.

Interprofessional education (IPE) is relatively new in medical schools in South Korea. Since the introduction of IPE in 2022, its effective and sustainable implementation has been of great interest in medical schools. This study analyzed literature on the development of IPE in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan to explore strategies for successful IPE in Korean medical schools. A systematic literature search focused on institutionalizing IPE yielded 30 papers for review. The findings included the following crucial elements for effective IPE: (1) government or institutional-led support; (2) establishment of networks and partnerships; (3) development of standardized core competency frameworks for IPE; and (4) inclusion of IPE in accreditation standards. These aspects underscore the importance of IPE as an essential component of health professional education that should be effectively and sustainably implemented in academic settings. The study concludes that the successful integration and sustainable development of IPE in Korean health education will necessitate expanded and proactive governmental support. Moreover, promoting collaborations among universities, hospitals, and local healthcare institutions will be vital for creating synergies in implementing IPE programs. Establishing networks to develop and execute joint IPE initiatives and securing initial support for conceptualizing and developing competency frameworks will be critical. Additionally, forming consortia of healthcare accreditation bodies to collaboratively develop and incorporate IPE standards into evaluation criteria will be essential. Efforts to surmount these challenges will contribute to building a structural and institutional support system for the successful introduction and sustainability of IPE in Korea.

Interprofessional collaboration is crucial for patient-centered care and safety. Since healthcare students will be part of interprofessional teams in the future, they need to understand the unique contributions of various healthcare professions to patient care and develop skills in collaboration, communication, leadership, and mutual respect. In response to this need, healthcare faculties have adopted interprofessional education as an innovative teaching method. However, traditional health education has typically taken place within individual schools, resulting in a limited understanding of other professional roles and identities. In our study, we introduced an interprofessional education model involving two different colleges. A total of 152 undergraduate students, comprising 101 medical students from Chung Ang University and 51 nursing students from Sungshin Women's University, participated in the program. A one-day interprofessional education program was conducted to promote collaboration between medical and nursing students. The program included team building and communication games, scenario-based simulations, such as a "room of errors," and tabletop exercises. Key factors for successful interprofessional education include carefully planned scheduling, leadership, and commitment from participating colleges, faculty support and training, the use of diverse teaching methods and technology, and alignment regarding educational directions among the faculty. We believe that this model may provide valuable insights for healthcare institutions aiming to develop and implement interprofessional curricula.

A physician's empathy plays a crucial role in patient-centered care, and in modern medicine, patients, their caregivers, and society demand a high level of empathy from healthcare providers. The conceptualization of clinical empathy, which has emphasized cognitive empathy since the mid-20th century, has been widely accepted in medical schools and the healthcare industry without much critical ref lection. This study provides an overview of the ongoing debates on empathy versus sympathy and cognitive empathy versus affective empathy to clarify the concept of empathy. Based on recent research findings, clinical empathy is proposed to encompass three components: cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and empathic motivation. It is suggested that fully demonstrating these components requires empathic communication skills. Additionally, the cognitive characteristics of medical students and the features of the academic environment demonstrate the need for education to strengthen their empathy skills. Considering this, proposed intervention methods that medical schools can consider include utilizing tutoring programs and debriefing processes for team activities, which can facilitate problem-solving as a coping strategy for stress. Learning communities can create an environment where students can receive social support and recover from stress. Medical schools can contribute to the development of students' professional identities as practicing clinicians who embody empathy and respect by cultivating professors as positive role models. Additionally, utilizing scales to assess the empathic nature of doctor-patient communication or incorporating patients and caregivers as evaluators can actively improve empathic communication skills.

This study utilized cohort data, student lifestyle surveys, and mental health examination results from a medical school to investigate the impact of factors such as hometown, alcohol use, smoking, university life adaptation, and aptitude on academic failure, with mental health serving as a mediator. We analyzed data from 409 of the 549 incoming students at Keimyung University School of Medicine, excluding 140 individuals with missing data, from the academic years 2015 to 2021. Significant differences were found according to hometown in feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. There were also significant differences based on university life adaptation in feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction, as well as significant differences according to academic aptitude in feelings of depression and internet addiction. Academic failure showed significant differences based on hometown, university life adaptation, and academic aptitude. Furthermore, students' hometown had a complete mediating effect on academic failure together with feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. University life adaptation exhibited a complete mediating effect with suicidal tendencies and a partial mediating effect with feelings of depression and internet addiction. Academic aptitude demonstrated partial mediating effects on feelings of depression, suicidal tendencies, and internet addiction. Based on these results, we suggest establishing counseling programs tailored to the characteristics of medical students, and various programs for university life adaptation are necessary. There is also a need for diverse programs not only for clinical training, but also for different career paths.