To explore the effect of mind mapping combined with case-based learning (CBL) method in clinical teaching of nephrology.

A total of 50 residents and graduate students who participated in standardized training in the Department of Internal Medicine of the First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital from October 2021 to October 2023 were selected as the study subjects and randomly divided into two groups, a test group (mind mapping+ CBL, n=25) and a control group (traditional teaching method, n=25). The test group was taught with mind mapping combined with CBL employing a "symptoms - examination - diagnosis - treatment" closed-loop training approach, while the control group were taught with the traditional teaching method. The theoretical and practical skill scores as well as teaching satisfaction were compared between the two groups.

The test group achieved significantly higher theoretical scores (92.60±3.27 vs 90.08±2.86, P=0.006) and practical skill scores (89.44±2.77 vs 87.12±4.04, P=0.022) than the control group. The teaching satisfaction survey also showed that the test group had higher ratings for clarity of teaching objectives [8.00 (7.00-8.00] vs. 7.00 (6.00-7.00), P=0.005), practicality of teaching methods [8.00 (8.00-9.00] vs. 7.00 (6.00-8.00], P=0.002), and total satisfaction score (30.48±3.00 vs. 27.84±3.84, P=0.009) than the control group.

Compared with traditional teaching method, the mind mapping combined with CBL in clinical teaching of nephrology effectively enhanced the learners′ learning outcomes in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills of nephrology.