Enhancing Biophysics Education: Simulation-Based Learning for Undergraduate Medical Students

Abstract

Simulation-based learning has emerged as a promising strategy to address the persistent challenge of making biophysics meaningful and clinically relevant for undergraduate medical students. This narrative review outlines the pedagogical rationale, implementation models, and educational impact of simulation-based learning in the context of biophysics within preclinical curricula. Evidence from biomedical science and physiology education indicates that integrating simulation into basic science teaching improves knowledge acquisition, conceptual integration, and early clinical reasoning, while also enhancing engagement and motivation. Various modalities—including high-fidelity manikins, virtual patient platforms, standardized patients, and computer-based physiological modeling—allow learners to visualize abstract physical principles in dynamic, patient-centered scenarios. Simulation appears most effective when aligned with explicit learning outcomes, embedded within existing courses, and combined with debriefing and problem-based activities. Limitations include costs, faculty development needs, and heterogeneous assessment outcomes, particularly for long-term retention. Overall, simulation-based learning offers a powerful complement, rather than a replacement, to traditional lectures and laboratories in biophysics for medical students.