Selçuk Akturan, Bilge Delibalta, Ayşenur Duman Dilbaz, Yasemin Güner, Melek Üçüncüoğlu, Canan Ayazoğlu
Journal of Clinical Practice and Research - 2025;47(5):528-540
INTRODUCTION The theory of complexity explains the interconnected and adaptive nature of medical education. Substantial evidence supports its application in education, particularly in learning communities, which function as self-organizing systems.1 These communities drive continuous change and knowledge creation, fostering adaptation and development. Meaningful change occurs when individuals within the learning community evolve, rather than through externally imposed reforms. Stakeholder engagement plays a crucial role in introducing new knowledge and ideas, fostering creativity, adaptation, and growth.2,3 Despite this, key systemic concepts such as continuous quality improvement, patient safety, practice-based learning, and teamwork remain challenging to understand, internalize, and implement.4 The Search Conference method may provide a valuable solution to these challenges. However, our research found no prior application of Search Conferences in medical education, despite their use in other sectors and organizations. This method allows participants to create a plan for the most desirable future of their community or organization. The Search Conference is becoming increasingly popular, as it provides a structured approach where stakeholders promise commitment and joint action toward agreed goals, directions, and change. Typically, 20-50 participants (field-specific leaders, practitioners, etc.) from the system are invited based on their knowledge of the system, their different perspectives, and their potential to implement the plan they have developed. Participants are invited not as representatives of stakeholder groups but for their potential contribution to the Search Conference on a topic-specific basis. The important point is to invite the right people in line with the purpose of the conference. After attending, everyone becomes a planner/designer on equal terms and with equal rights.5,6 The reason the conference is called a "Search'' is that small groups explore their own external environment and system by collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing data. In this process, people learn from one another and make plans together at the same time. A Search Conference does not resemble a training workshop or traditional conference with presenters, keynotes, presentations, speakers, games, or training sessions. Instead, participants are collectively responsible for the results and responsibilities. The facilitators of the Search Conference provide the best possible environment for interaction, ensuring that participants have the best structure and process for their task.5,7 The importance of stakeholder participation for the continuous development of undergraduate medical education is well known.8 However, our research found no prior application of Search Conferences in medical education, despite their use in other sectors and organizations. To verify this, we conducted a focused scan of the literature using major academic databases. While participatory methods such as the Delphi technique, strategic workshops, and consensus- building processes have been employed in various medical education contexts, we found no prior study reporting the use of the Search Conference method specifically within undergraduate medical education programs.9,10 Participatory approaches such as the Delphi technique, strategic planning workshops, and consensus-building processes have been widely used in medical education, but these methods typically rely on structured expert input and are often institutionally driven. In contrast, the Search Conference method emphasizes open dialogue, equal participation, and stakeholder ownership, bringing together diverse individuals-including non-health professionals-who are directly or indirectly impacted by healthcare delivery. This inclusive and collaborative structure distinguishes the Search Conference from other approaches and positions it as a promising method for shaping educational reform based on shared values and collective planning. For this purpose, we aimed to reveal the impacts of the Search Conference method on our faculty's undergraduate medical education. Our research question was defined as: "How does the Search Conference method contribute to the development of undergraduate medical education. " The goal was to assess the impacts of the Search Conference and provide data to guide the development of undergraduate medical education at the Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine with the contributions of stakeholders. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Design This study is a retrospective qualitative document analysis, examining the outputs of a Search Conference and internal institutional reports related to program development and evaluation in undergraduate medical education. The study followed a content analysis methodology to classify, interpret, and report the ideas and action items generated.
