Simulation-project-based learning of infant nutrition for international medical students in a pediatrics course

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to develop and pilot a simulation-project-based model for teaching infant nutrition to international medical students. This model integrates work with a virtual parent, subsequent skill practice with a real parent in an infant pathology unit, project work in mixed Russian-international groups, cross-cultural analysis of complementary feeding practices, and a competency-based assessment of professional performance. The article addresses the challenge of training international students in a clinical discipline, which is complicated less by the volume of medical terminology than by the need to comprehend the everyday speech of patients and their parents, conduct counseling, and account for the family’s cultural context; in pediatrics, this task becomes particularly acute because the physician interacts primarily with the child’s parents. The scientific novelty of the work lies in adapting the simulation-project approach to teaching infant nutrition to international students, incorporating Russian-language clinical communication, cross-cultural analysis of dietary practices, and assessment based on elements of entrustable professional activities (EPAs). As a result of the study, it was established that following a single practical session evaluated in a pre-post format involving 36 students (20 Russian 6th-year pediatric students and 16 international 5th-year general medicine students from India, Nigeria, Egypt, and Ecuador), the median knowledge level increased by 33.3%, and the overall checklist score increased by 44.0% (p < 0.001). Russian and international students achieved a comparable final level of mastery of entrustable professional activities; however, international students outperformed in cross-cultural analysis, whereas Russian students excelled in Russian-language communication with parents. Post-session median scores increased across topic knowledge, taking dietary history, identifying nutritional risks, and accounting for family cultural characteristics, demonstrating that the simulation-project model is a promising tool for short-term instruction of international students in a pediatrics course.

Research materials

1. Программа оптимизации вскармливания детей первого года жизни в Российской Федерации: методические рекомендации / Союз педиатров России. М., 2019.
2. Симуляционное обучение в медицине / под ред. А. А. Свистунова. М.: Изд-во Первого МГМУ им. И. М. Сеченова, 2013.
3. WHO guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6-23 months of age. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2023.

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: July 23, 2026.
• Published: August 21, 2026.

Keywords

• симуляционно-проектная модель
• иностранные студенты
• клиническая коммуникация
• межкультурная компетентность
• питание детей первого года жизни
• simulation-project-based model
• international students
• clinical communication
• cross-cultural competence
• infant nutrition

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