Definitions and incorporation of resilience in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review

Background Resilience is crucial for mental health and well-being, especially for medical students who experience increasing psychological distress as they progress with their studies. There is growing interest in leveraging resilience to support the mental health and well-being of medical students. However, a clear and consistent definition of resilience within undergraduate medical education (UGME) is lacking, and best practices for incorporating it are unclear. This scoping review explores definitions of resilience in UGME and examines how it is incorporated into undergraduate medical programmes. Methods This review followed the original scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), later refined by Levac et al. (2010), and the Joanna Briggs Institute (2015, 2020). A comprehensive search was conducted in October 2026 across five major databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and EBSCOhost. The 5,112 identified records underwent screening based on the inclusion criteria. Data charting criteria were established, after which data were extracted and charted into a developed Excel sheet. Publication characteristics were analysed using basic descriptive analysis. Definitions of resilience and descriptions of resilience interventions were analysed using Elo and Kyngäs’ (2008) qualitative content analysis process to identify conceptual patterns in resilience definitions and common intervention characteristics. Results A total of 278 articles were included in this review, the majority of which were published within the last four years and originated from Asia, Europe, or North America. Resilience definitions were drawn from 193 unique sources, reflecting diverse interpretations, but commonly emphasising the ability to effectively adapt and recover from challenges and adversities. Ninety-three of the included publications identified a wide range of interventions aimed at enabling resilience in UGME. Mindfulness, reflection, and social support were among the most frequently cited interventions. These interventions varied considerably in terms of their duration, intensity, focus, design, and delivery. Conclusions Resilience is increasingly recognised as an important component of medical student well-being, yet its definition and incorporation within UGME remain inconsistent. This review identified substantial variation in how resilience is conceptualised and incorporated across the literature. The findings highlight the importance of conceptual clarity for guiding the design, implementation, and evaluation of resilience interventions. Future resilience research and interventions may benefit from contextually responsive approaches that recognise both individual and broader social, educational, and institutional influences on resilience.