Work

Innovation Management in Medical Education: A Narrative Review of Its Organizational Dimensions, Facilitators, and Barriers

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Background: Innovation has become increasingly important in medical education; however, successful innovation requires more than the adoption of individual educational interventions or technologies. Institutions need organizational capabilities that enable innovation to be developed, implemented, sustained, and evaluated. Despite growing interest in educational innovation, evidence regarding how medical education institutions manage innovation at the organizational level remains fragmented. Objective: This narrative review aimed to synthesize evidence on the organizational dimensions, facilitators, and barriers influencing innovation management in medical education and to develop a comprehensive understanding of how institutions create conditions for sustainable innovation. Methods: A narrative review approach was used. Literature was identified through searches of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Magiran, and Google Scholar, complemented by reference list checking and limited citation tracking of relevant publications. Database searches targeted publications from 2019 to 2026, while additional conceptually important studies identified through supplementary approaches were considered. Evidence was synthesized according to six organizational dimensions: leadership, governance, and innovation policy; human capital development and empowerment; organizational culture and climate; knowledge management and innovation infrastructure; change management, implementation, and sustainability; and evaluation, quality improvement, and social accountability. Results: The reviewed evidence indicates that innovation management in medical education is a multidimensional institutional process rather than an isolated activity. Leadership commitment, supportive governance structures, faculty development, empowerment, innovation-oriented organizational cultures, knowledge-sharing systems, implementation capacity, and continuous evaluation emerged as interconnected factors influencing innovation sustainability. Major barriers included organizational resistance, limited resources, fragmented governance, insufficient institutional readiness, and challenges in maintaining innovations beyond initial implementation phases. Conclusion: Innovation management in medical education should be approached as an institutional capability requiring alignment among leadership, organizational structures, human capacity, cultural conditions, implementation processes, and evaluation mechanisms, rather than reliance on isolated innovation activities. Future research should move beyond individual innovation projects toward longitudinal and comparative investigations of how medical education institutions develop and sustain innovation capacity over time.

Source: Advances in Medical Education and Practice

DOI: 10.2147/amep.s655209

Authors: Roohangiz Norouzinia, Zahra Tayebi myaneh

Institution: Alborz University of Medical Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Innovations in Medical Education

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,320