The Magic of Lateral Thinking and the Features of Its Implementation in Medical Education

Abstract

Background: Enhancing teaching efficiency in clinical disciplines for medical students is critical for reducing medical errors and improving future medical practice. Despite advancements in foundational sciences, traditional teaching methods often fail to cultivate essential critical thinking skills. Lateral thinking (LT), a non-traditional approach emphasizing creativity and heuristic problem-solving, offers potential for innovation in medical education.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of LT-integrated pedagogy compared to traditional teaching methods in pediatric clinical training for master’s students, testing three hypotheses: 1. LT is incompatible with disciplines requiring strict protocol adherence (e.g., pediatrics).2. LT implementation requires minimal changes to traditional pedagogy.3. LT yields no significant difference in learning outcomes versus conventional methods.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with fifth-year Pediatrics master’s students at Odessa National Medical University. Participants were divided into: Control group (n=19): Traditional teaching (case analysis, protocol-based instruction). Experimental group (n=24): LT-integrated teaching (e.g., "Five Whys" technique, brainstorming, "medical tribunal" game).
Both groups completed two lessons on "Diabetes mellitus in children." Twelve competencies (diagnostic/therapeutic skills) were assessed. Statistical analysis included t-tests, Pearson’s χ², and dispersion metrics (SPSS 17.0, Excel 2010).

Results: The study refutes all five hypotheses. (1) LT implements evidence-based medicine while maintaining safety and applying innovative solutions in complex conditions. (2) Integration of LT required substantial structural changes (correlation coefficient = 0.298; χ² = 71.39, p<0.001). (3) After the second lesson, the LT group showed significantly higher skill acquisition (92.46% ±4.59 vs. 79.90% ±9.88; t=22.69, p<0.01; χ²=20.05, p<0.05). (4) LT reduced variance significantly (dispersion: 71.98 vs. 212.35; ratio 2.95:1). (5) LT accelerated mastery by 35% (13.26 vs. 17.86 hours; efficiency ratio 1.35:1).

Conclusion of the study: The integration of lateral thinking in medical education enhances skill acquisition, promotes teamwork, and improves adaptability to complex clinical scenarios. Although it requires significant restructuring of teaching methods and additional preparation time, the benefits in terms of learning outcomes and efficiency are substantial.