Establishing meaningful connections: the use of concept maps as a learning tool

The constant changes in health professions, and the need for future practitioners to remain competetent means that students should be taught using meaningful and integrated learning strategies. Among the different strategies that help students retain information, develop critical thinking and reason to solve several difficulties; concept maps have been addressed as one such relevant approach. They are described as an organised hierarchical representation of mental understandings, linking a set of relevant concepts using verbs or phrases that give sense to the map. In this short communication the authors intend to discuss the current use and benefits of concept maps within health professions education, along with what constitutes an effective concept map and how it should be introduced to students.