Premium
Medical education: revolution, devolution and evolution in curriculum philosophy and design
Author(s) -
Wittert Gary A,
Nelson Adam J
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02673.x
Subject(s) - curriculum , engineering ethics , devolution (biology) , health care , knowledge management , management science , computer science , engineering , medicine , psychology , pedagogy , political science , bipedalism , law , anatomy
Contemporary medical education must train skilled and compassionate health care professionals who are rigorous in their approach to patient care and their pursuit of knowledge and solutions. Problem‐based learning has been widely introduced, but there is no evidence that it leads to better outcomes than more traditional programs, and fundamental gaps in conceptual knowledge may result. Recently, emphasis has been placed on a solid grounding in underlying concepts combined with a systems‐based approach, and ability to transfer information and solve problems. Integrating traditional scientific and clinical disciplines with progressive and continuous assessment, may be a better means of achieving the combined aims of clinically relevant curriculum design, vertical integration of medical knowledge, and facilitation of the continuum of training. Being adaptable and flexible, cognisant of costs, and driven by evidence are key features of delivering medical education and contemporary medical practice. Educational research should lead to continuous improvement, but innovation without evaluation and attention to costs may create as many, or more, problems as are solved.