Microlectures teach, problem-based learning integrates: designing short clinical practicums in biomedical engineering education

Short hospital-based clinical practicums in biomedical engineering education place interdisciplinary learners in a bind: the placement is too brief for immersion, the supervising workforce is trained clinically rather than technically, and the intended competencies—which sit at the device–patient care interface—are poorly served by observation-based apprenticeship. This Perspective argues that combining problem-based learning (PBL) with microlectures—a work-integrated learning design distinct from a conventional flipped classroom and grounded in cognitive load theory—offers a tractable response, but only when the design fits the practicum's structure rather than a lecture course template. The division of labor is straightforward: Microlectures teach and PBL integrates. The former front-load the declarative knowledge and procedural routines that learners would otherwise assemble inside a compressed placement, reducing extraneous cognitive load and returning scarce on-site hours to supervised practice; PBL then supplies authentic, escalating problems that force learners to integrate engineering and clinical reasoning before they act. We propose SPICE (sequence, problem-anchoring, integration escalation, consistent facilitation, evidence-aligned assessment), grounded in cognitive load theory, situated cognition, and self-determination theory: a design framework of five coupled commitments—Sequence, Problem-anchoring, Integration escalation, Consistent facilitation, and Evidence-aligned assessment—each of which we specify as operationalizable and evaluable. Evaluators may expect procedural skill, reasoning performance, and learning experience to move more readily than declarative knowledge, and should not read a flat theory result as failure. We close by identifying what remains unresolved, including transfer, measurement, and equitable access.