Learning to Be a Consultant

consultant : “a hospital doctor of the highest rank who is an expert in a particular area of medicine”1As noted in earlier articles and editorials in this series on education and training in pathology and laboratory Medicine,2–6 we look more and more for evidence as to what should be taught, how it should be taught, and when it should be taught. Education and training are entering a new era that is driven by better research, careful analysis of research findings, and new approaches for applying those findings. One of the most important parts of this new approach is the issue of what should be taught. Although it may seem obvious that students and trainees should be taught what they need to know to advance in the next stages of their careers, most content has been focused on preparing students and trainees to complete their education or training; there has been much less emphasis on career development. More recently, resident training has seen a major shift towards standardization, primarily through efforts of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and individual residency review committees …