Valentina Ly

Purpose: Licensure and certification examinations have traditionally served to ensure physicians possess the knowledge and skills required for independent practice. However, with the growing emphasis on workplace-based assessment, the role and relevance of these point-in-time examinations are increasingly debated. This systematic review aimed to explore the association between physician performance on national licensing and certification examinations and subsequent measures of quality of care in practice. Method: The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Six databases were searched through November 2025. Original research studies were included if they examined the relationship between performance on medical licensing or certification examinations and physician performance in independent practice, including patient outcomes and fitness to practice. Data were extracted and analyzed using content analysis to identify patterns and trends across studies. Results: A total of 44 studies involving 1,021,187 physicians were included. The findings demonstrated that examination performance was consistently associated with quality of patient care and fitness-to-practice concerns. Better examination performance was linked to improved adherence to mammography screening recommendations, appropriate prescribing practices, improved care of patients with diabetes, lower patient morbidity and mortality, fewer complaints to regulatory bodies, and lower malpractice payments. The association was observed across examination formats and medical specialties. Conclusions: The results suggest that national licensing and certification examinations are valuable predictors of future clinical performance. They provide a uniform benchmark to ensure physicians meet rigorously defined criteria. The findings support continued use of these examinations as part of a comprehensive assessment program to promote high-quality patient care and physician competence. This is critical in an era of increased physician mobility, where many physicians have trained in jurisdictions with widely varying curricula and assessment practices. National examinations help ensure that all licensed physicians meet a consistent standard for clinical competence.

Objectives: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare requires robust legal safeguards to ensure safety, privacy and non-discrimination, crucial for maintaining trust. Yet, unaddressed differences in disciplinary perspectives and priorities risk impeding effective reform. This study uncovers convergences and divergences in disciplinary comprehension, prioritisation and proposed solutions to legal issues with health-AI, providing law and policymaking guidance. Methods: Employing a scoping review methodology, we searched MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), HeinOnline Law Journal Library, Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (HeinOnline), Index to Legal Periodicals and Books (EBSCOhost), Web of Science (Core Collection), Scopus and IEEE Xplore, identifying legal issue discussions published, in English or French, from January 2012 to July 2021. Of 18 168 screened studies, 432 were included for data extraction and analysis. We mapped the legal concerns and solutions discussed by authors in medicine, law, nursing, pharmacy, other healthcare professions, public health, computer science and engineering, revealing where they agree and disagree in their understanding, prioritisation and response to legal concerns. Results: Critical disciplinary differences were evident in both the frequency and nature of discussions of legal issues and potential solutions. Notably, innovators in computer science and engineering exhibited minimal engagement with legal issues. Authors in law and medicine frequently contributed but prioritised different legal issues and proposed different solutions. Discussion and conclusion: Differing perspectives regarding law reform priorities and solutions jeopardise the progress of health AI development. We need inclusive, interdisciplinary dialogues concerning the risks and trade-offs associated with various solutions to ensure optimal law and policy reform.

Background: Feedback remains essential to a learner’s professional development. Most feedback literature focuses on provision of feedback, and there is a lack of evidence-based data to support learners in developing skills to receive, evaluate and use feedback, independently of context. This scoping review mapped the literature regarding strategies and skills that optimize medical learners’ reception to feedback. Methods: Investigators conducted searches in MEDLINE, Embase, ERIC, APA PsycINFO and Web of Science Core collection from inception to May 2023. Study inclusion criteria were primary evidence sources, and strategies or skills for improved feedback reception for medical learners. Data were screened and extracted by pairs of independent reviewers. Investigators summarized study characteristics, outcomes, educational methods, and interventions. Results: Of 7692 total studies, six provided strategies and skills to improve feedback reception. Delivery of education was via workshops (n = 5 studies) that proposed cognitive, reflective and experiential learning activities, all reporting learners’ self-perceived improvement of feedback behaviour. Nine strategies and seven tools were identified, focusing on general approach, soliciting or evaluating feedback. Conclusion: The six included studies outline nine strategies and seven skills for improved learner feedback reception, focusing on overall approach and agentic behaviours without evaluation of the strategies or skills in practice. Key concepts and gaps in the literature were identified and may guide further investigation to optimize learner reception to feedback.

Objective – The purpose of this research is to examine the experiences of mentors and mentees in the formal mentorship program offered by the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada Network (ViMLoC) from 2018-2022. Findings from this research will help mentors and mentees understand how to establish an effective mentoring relationship. Professional library associations and libraries can also gain valuable insights to support the visible minority library professionals within their own mentorship programs. Methods – Between 2018 and 2022, 113 mentors and 145 mentees participated in four sessions of the ViMLoC mentorship program. The ViMLoC Mentorship Committee designed and delivered a survey for mentors and a survey for mentees at the end of each session. Over four sessions, 81 mentors and 82 mentees completed the surveys, representing a 72% and 57% completion rate, respectively. Fisher's Exact Tests were performed to examine if there were significant differences between mentors and mentees in their perceptions regarding ease of communication, relationship, helpfulness of mentorship, likeliness of keeping in contact, and importance of having a visible minority partner. Results – The mentees perceived mentoring support to be more helpful than the mentors perceived it themselves. The mentees were more likely to keep in contact with their mentors beyond the mentorship program while the mentors did not show as much interest. The mentees who had a positive experience from the formal mentorship program were found to be more likely to mentor others in the future, whereas the same effect did not hold true for the mentors. On the other hand, some findings were the same for both mentors and mentees. Both stated that effective communication would facilitate a good mentoring relationship, which in turn, would lead to positive outcomes and greater likelihood of keeping in contact beyond the mentoring program. There was also consensus of opinion about the most important areas of mentoring support and some essential skills for building a successful mentoring relationship. Conclusion – This research contributes to the literature by using an empirical research method and comparative analyses of the experiences between mentors and mentees over four sessions of the ViMLoC mentorship program. The study focuses on the perceptions of participants regarding their communication, relationship, helpfulness of mentorship, associations between their past and present mentoring experiences, areas of support, importance of having a visible minority partner, and essential skills for building a successful mentoring relationship. Mentors and mentees differed significantly in how they perceived the helpfulness of mentorship support and how likely they would like to maintain the ties beyond the program. For both sides, effective and easy communication was found to be critical for building a good mentoring relationship and achieving a satisfactory experience.

Based on the data from the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada 2021 Redux Survey, this study examines experiences of racial microaggressions among visible minority librarians in Canada. This research fills the gap in the library and information science (LIS) literature regarding racial microaggressions in librarianship in the Canadian context. Of the 148 respondents, 69% (n=102) experienced at least one stated racial microaggression. The result of a Kruskal-Wallis H test revealed a significant association between years of experience as a librarian and a librarian’s overall experiences with microaggressions. A post hoc test based on Bonferroni correction was run, which indicated that librarians with less than five years of work experience encountered microaggressions less frequently compared to those with 11–15 years of experience. For the ten stated types of racial microaggressions, the most frequently reported type was “I was told that people of all racial groups face the same barriers in employment or promotion,” and the least frequently reported type was “A colleague claimed that he/she felt threatened because of my race.” Fisher's exact tests were further performed to examine how the respondents differed in their experiences of each microaggression. The test results revealed that the librarians with different personal attributes (ethnicity, disability status, gender identity, language used) and employment attributes (librarian experience, management position, library type) had significantly different encounters with eight forms of microaggression. Professional library associations and libraries must strengthen education about racial microaggressions and offer support to visible minority librarians when they are confronted with microaggressive behaviours.

Objective – As a follow-up to the first 2013 survey, the Visible Minority Librarians of Canada (ViMLoC) network conducted its second comprehensive survey in 2021. The 2021 survey gathered detailed information about the demography, education, and employment of visible minority librarians (VMLs) working in Canadian institutions. Data from the 2021 survey and the analysis presented in this paper help us better understand the current library landscape, presented alongside findings from the 2013 survey. The research results will be helpful for professional associations and library administrators to develop initiatives to support VMLs. Methods – Researchers created online survey questionnaires using Qualtrics XM in English and translated them into French. We distributed the survey invitation through relevant library association electronic mail lists and posted on ViMLoC’s website, social networking platforms, and through their electronic mail list. The survey asked if the participant was a visible minority librarian. If the response was “No,” the survey closed. Respondents indicating "Yes" were asked 36 personal and professional questions of three types: multiple-choice, yes/no, and open-ended questions. Results – One hundred and sixty-two VMLs completed the 2021 survey. Chinese remained the largest ethnic identity, but their proportion in the survey decreased from 36% in 2013 to 24% in 2021. 65% were aged between 26 and 45 years old. More than half received their library degree during the 2010s. 89% completed their library degree in Canada, a 5% increase from 2013. The majority of librarians had graduated from University of Toronto (25%), followed closely by University of British Columbia (23%), and Western University (22%). Only 3% received their library degree from a library school outside North America. 34% of librarians earned a second master’s degree and 5% had a PhD. 60% of librarians had less than 11 years of experience. Nearly half worked in academic libraries. Most were located in Ontario and British Columbia. 69% of librarians were in non-management positions with 5% being senior administrators. 25% reported a salary above $100,000. In terms of job categories, the largest group worked in Reference/Information Services (45%), followed by Instruction Services (32%), and as Liaison Librarians (31%). Those working in Acquisitions/Collection Development saw the biggest jump from 1% in 2013 to 28% in 2021. 58% of librarians sought mentoring support, of whom 54% participated in formal mentorship programs, and 48% had a visible minority mentor. Conclusion – 35% more VMLs responded to the 2021 survey compared to the 2013 survey. Changes occurred in ethnic identity, generation, where VMLs earned a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) or equivalent degree, library type, geographic location, and job responsibilities. The 2021 survey also explored other aspects of the VMLs not covered in the 2013 survey, such as librarian experience, salary, management positions, and mentorship experience. The findings suggested that the professional associations and library administrators would need collaborative efforts to support VMLs.