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Background An important element of effective clinical practice is the way physicians think when they encounter a clinical situation, with a significant number of trainee physicians challenged by translating their learning into professional practice in the clinical setting. This research explores the perceptions of educators about how trainee physicians develop their clinical thinking in clinical settings. It considers what educators and their colleagues did to help, as well as the nature of the context in which they worked. Method A qualitative approach was used in this study with in depth interviews carried out with educators as key informants. Rich data derived from 15 interview transcripts were analysed thematically in a rigorous and iterative process. Results Three broad and overlapping themes were identified: working in an educationally minded culture; proximity of the educator to the trainee physician; and trajectory of the trainee physician. The departments in which these educators worked emphasised the importance for the education of trainee physicians. All members of the team were responsible for education of the team, and all members, particularly senior nurses, were able to give feedback upon the trainee physicians’ progress. Educators described working side by side with their trainee physician and frequently being in close proximity to them which means that the educator was both easily accessible and spent more time with their trainee physicians. They described a trajectory of the trainee physicians through the placement with close monitoring and informal assessment throughout. Conclusion Recommendations are made as to how trainee physicians can be supported to develop their clinical thinking. Educators and managers can analyse their own and their department’s practice and select the recommendations relevant to their local circumstances in order to make change. This study adds the educator perspective to a body of literature about the importance of context and supportive learning environments. As such the discussion is applicable to the education of other health professionals.

Meeting family carers who recount their experiences of being on the receiving end of health and social care provides a 'real life' context in which undergraduate students from different professions can explore together and learn about interprofessional care and teamwork. This paper draws on data from a three-month in-depth evaluation of palliative care workshops in which medical, nursing, social work and rehabilitation therapy students interview family carers who are caring for someone with a terminal illness or who have recently been bereaved. The evaluation showed that students responded positively to 'real world' learning and coped well when carers were upset or recounted distressing incidents. Meeting the carer had a profound impact on the students- to the extent that some said they were 'changed' by the experience and felt it would significantly influence their professional behaviour. Hearing the carer's story also allowed them to pinpoint new and significant insights into their own profession and into healthcare provision generally. Family carers' views of their experience of the workshops were also sought and they too reported benefits from meeting the students. They found the experience cathartic and therapeutic and were both surprised and impressed by the maturity of the students who were able to respond to their distress. The paper also discusses the practicalities involved in recruiting the carers, issues of preparation and debriefing and lessons which will be useful to others who may wish to involve family carers in education.

\"This book is written by two eminent educators and clinicians in medicine, and provides a wealth of information and food for thought for those who have responsibility for curriculum development.\" Journal of Orthodontics What are the contemporary problems facing curriculum designers and developers?.

What are the contemporary problems facing curriculum designers and developers? What are the key questions that ought to be addressed with regard to curriculum design for medical practice? How might a curriculum for practice in medical education be developed? \"Medical Education\" offers a detailed response to these questions and shows what form a curriculum for practice should take and how one can be developed. These ideas are presented in a highly practical and readable account that is essential reading for those involved in educating the doctors of the future and for policy makers in the field of medical education. It also offers useful advice for those in related fields of health care. The authors show that recent developments of curricula for postgraduate doctors have been founded on the misguided view (promoted by politicians and policy makers) that medical practice is routine, straightforward and able to be reduced to simple protocols that professionals must learn and follow. In this view, doctors are technicians who need merely to be trained through a simple curriculum.;In contrast, this book shows that the practice of medicine as experienced by working doctors is complex, uncertain and unpredictable. This requires a curriculum that provides the opportunity to learn to exercise professional judgement and make decisions based on practical wisdom.

Professionalism has become one of the buzzwords in medical education. In the USA, a major collaborative project on the subject has resulted, inter alia, in a new charter on medical professionalism.1 In the UK, the General Medical Council has encouraged the teaching of professionalism.2 Many UK medical school curricula and postgraduate training programmes now feature a professionalism component that is both identifiable and assessable. Medical interviews regularly include questions on ethics and professionalism.

This article reviews the current state of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, and suggests changing the educational methods used rather than rearranging the content of courses. A learner centred approach is described, and its applications to postgraduate medical education discussed. Some research and development implications are considered.

Background An important element of effective clinical practice is the way physicians ‘think’ when they encounter a clinical situation, with a significant number of physicians in training challenged by translating their learning into professional practice in the clinical setting. This research explores the perceptions of educators about how physicians in training develop their clinical thinking in clinical settings. It considers what educators and their colleagues did to help, as well as the nature of the ‘context’ in which they worked. Method A qualitative approach was used in this study with in depth interviews carried out with educators as ‘key informants’. Rich data derived from fifteen interview transcripts were analysed thematically in a rigorous and iterative process. Results Three broad and overlapping themes were identified: working in an educationally minded culture; proximity of the educator to the physician in training; and trajectory of the physician in training. The departments in which these educators worked emphasised the importance on the education of physicians in training. All members of the team were responsible for education of the team, and all members, particularly senior nurses, were able to give feedback upon the physicians’ in training progress. Educators described working side by side with their physician in training and frequently being in close proximity to them, which means that the educator was both easily accessible and spent more time with their physicians in training. They described a trajectory of the physicians in training through the placement with close monitoring and informal assessment throughout. Conclusion Recommendations are made as to how physicians in training can be supported to develop their clinical thinking. Educators and managers can analysis their own and department’s practice and select the recommendations relevant to their local circumstances in order to make change. This study adds the educator perspective to a body of literature about the importance of context and supportive learning environments. As such the discussion is applicable to the education of other health professionals.