The problem-based learning applied to emergency and critical care professionals: a scoping review

Introduction The education processes designed for healthcare professionals, aim to facilitate the acquisition and maintenance of knowledge and skills that are found to be constantly evolving in a context of rapid and substantial changes of health organizations. Among the teaching strategies characterized by active participation of learners, the problem-based learning methodology emerges, known as Problem Based Learning (PBL) (De Virgilio 2005). Among the clinical care areas that require and develop robust education courses, the area of intensive care and critical area where the skills of professionals are significantly related to clinical outcomes stand out. Aims This scoping review, aims to identify the studies of the quantitative, qualitative, mixed method design in which the PBL method has been used in critical and emergency area in order to identify education processes of proven effectiveness. Methods Scoping review conducted Dataaccording to JBI methodology. P: Healthcare professionals working in emergency and/or critical care settings.C: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) as an educational/training intervention.C: Emergency and critical care education contexts (e.g., ED, ICU, pre-hospital/EMS). bases searched: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, ERIC, ProQuest + grey literature (Google Scholar, ClinicalTrials.gov, medRxiv). Publication years: 1995–2025. Inclusion: healthcare professionals in emergency/critical care; PBL as educational intervention; quantitative/qualitative/mixed methods. Data charted and synthesized narratively; themes identified. Results 276 articles were found and in the final step 6 were included from which the following thematic areas emerge: 1- PBL is a methodology with high learner involvement that facilitates the retention of teaching contents (Kilroy 2004; Xu et al. 2022; Komasawa 2023), 2- the problem to be addressed with PBL must start from realistic and authentic situations coming from field experiences (Ward & Hartley 2006), 3- PBL facilitates cooperation between the group with a view to feeling like a multiprofessionals team (Streichert et al., 2004; Kilroy 2004). Conclusions The Problem Based Learning method applied to intensive and emergency care settings, turns out to be a way of strong involvement of learners that starting from a clinical care problem, through self-learning and group discussion, tends to hypothesize and arrive at the resolution of the problem, facilitating its application in clinical practice. LIMITATION: Small number of studies and heterogeneous designs/outcomes. Outcomes often educational rather than clinical. Possible publication bias and variable reporting quality.