Error-based learning in health professions education: AMEE Guide No. 191

Error-Based Learning (EBL) represents a paradigm shift in Health Professions Education (HPE), moving from punitive approaches to embracing errors as learning opportunities. This AMEE guide targets educators, curriculum designers, clinicians, and learners, bridging theory with practical strategies to optimize EBL in training and assessment. The guide contrasts Error Management Theory (EMT), which emphasizes learning from errors, with Error Avoidance Theory (EAT). Core EBL components including psychological safety, structured reflection, deliberate error exposure, and feedback are detailed alongside actionable implementation strategies, including simulation-based scenarios with debriefing, contrasting case-based reasoning, structured error-logging through reflective portfolios and assessment for learning. Looking ahead, we discuss emerging innovations in EBL, including the potential reconceptualization of educational tools such as the ‘escape room’ as an ‘error room’ and AI. This guide challenges traditional paradigms and calls for a deliberate focus on error-embracing in HPE.