The Physician as Learner - Medical Education

The Physician as Learner - Medical Education: "Research into the physician as a learner indicates that:

* Physicians learn best when the learning is in the context of patient care, answers their questions about patient care issues, is directly applicable to their work and does not take up too much of their time.
* Physicians learn in response to clinical problems. They scan their environment for potential problems, and once a problem has been identified decide to act on it by learning the things they need to know to solve the problem. They then apply this knowledge to the problem. (Slotnick)
* Physician learning is unique in that there is a high inclination towards autonomy and self-directed learning. (Amin)


When designing continuing professional opportunities for physicians it is, therefore, important that the characteristics of learner-centred education be incorporated. These characteristics include:

* The learners are self-directing, but may need some guidance to reach that point.
* The learners have an extensive experiential base that can serve as a resource or foundation for learning.
* The learners tend to have a life, task or problem-centred orientation to learning.
* The learners’ motivation is internal rather than external, but both motivations can apply."

I wish everyone who designed CME ( continuing medical education) programs for doctors would read this !