When We Vibe, We Transform

In February 2026, I found myself sitting in a crowded classroom at the USF Health Medical Education Symposium, listening to the keynote speaker, Dr. Ben Mba, Associate Designated Institutional Official at Yale School of Medicine. He spoke about scholarship in medical education—where we are, where we fall short, and how we might move higher along Kirkpatrick’s hierarchy. But what stayed with me was not just the content. It was the way he told his story. At some point during the talk, I realized something subtle but powerful was happening in the room. People weren’t just listening. Heads were nodding. Bodies were leaning forward. There was an energy—shared, palpable, difficult to name. If I were to use today’s language, I would say: we were vibing.

More than a Feeling

In interpersonal neurobiology, this experience of vibing is often described as limbic resonance—a process by which individuals share and regulate emotional states through attuned interaction. Emerging neuroscience supports this intuition. During effective teaching and learning interactions, educators and learners can exhibit interpersonal neural synchrony, aligning their neural activity in ways associated with engagement and learning. In other words, what we casually call a “vibe” may reflect something deeply biological: a moment when we are on the same wavelength—cognitively, emotionally, and relationally.

When the Room Joins In

This experience was not just between speaker and listener. It was collective. This phenomenon has been described as collective effervescence—a state in which groups come together in shared focus and emotion, generating a heightened sense of connection and purpose.  

In that classroom, the vibe amplified. It became something larger than any individual—a shared sense of possibility around what scholarship in medical education could become. For many of us, conferences and gatherings can serve this exact purpose. They are not simply information exchanges—they are spaces where we reconnect with our professional identity and with each other.

From Vibe to Identity

Why do moments like this stay with us long after the slides are forgotten? Because they shape who we are becoming. Medical education scholars have long argued that learning is not merely about acquiring knowledge, but about professional identity formation (PIF)—the process through which individuals come to “think, act, and feel” like members of the profession. This can be described as an evolving process shaped by experience, reflection, and social interaction. Specifically, identity formation occurs through participation in communities of practice, exposure to role models, and internalization of professional values—not simply through formal instruction.

Experiences like Dr. Mba’s keynote are particularly powerful because they integrate all three: they are relational, communal, and deeply meaningful. The keynote did not just teach scholarship. It modeled what it means to live it. And in doing so, it invited us to see ourselves differently—not just as educators consuming knowledge, but as contributors to a growing field.

Making Meaning

These moments matter because they create the conditions for transformative learning. Transformation can occur when individuals encounter experiences that challenge their assumptions and prompt reflection, ultimately leading to changes in perspective and behavior. In medical education, such transformation is often catalyzed in shared, dialogic environments where learners make meaning together rather than in isolation. Notably, both transformative learning theory and PIF literature converge on a shared insight: meaningful change happens in relationship, not in isolation.

Designing the “Vibe”

Reflecting on that experience, I find myself asking a different set of questions about my own teaching:

• How often am I trying not just to teach, but to connect?
• Where in my teaching do learners have the opportunity to experience something together, not just sit side by side?
• How might I create moments that allow learners to vibe with me—and with each other?
• How am I intentionally modeling the kind of professional identity I hope learners will develop?
• And when these moments occur, do I allow space for reflection and meaning-making so that connection becomes transformation?

The keynote lasted an hour. But the feeling—that shared alignment, that sense of possibility—has lingered. And now, when I return to that crowded auditorium in my mind, I realize the transformation did not happen because of a single idea or slide. It happened because, for a brief moment, we were all leaning forward—present, connected, and open to becoming something more. A room full of educators, not just listening—but feeling, aligning, and imagining together. A room that was not just engaged. A room that, unmistakably, was vibing.

What strategies have you used to edit the stories from others or for yourself? Share your thoughts at MedEdPearls!  

MedEdPearls are developed monthly by the Health Professions Educator Developers on Educational Affairs. Previously, MedEdPearls explored topics including making the most out of conferences, prepare to be spontaneous, and professional identity formation.