Medical education
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This paper considers the state of the science regarding language matters in medical education, with particular attention to two informal language practices: silence and humour. Silence and humour pervade clinical training settings, although we rarely attend explicitly to them. ⋯ A rich theoretical and methodological basis exists on which to elaborate a research agenda around silence and humour in medical education. Such research promises to reveal more fully the contributions of silence and humour to socialisation in clinical training settings.
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White coat ceremonies (WCCs) are widely prevalent as a celebration of matriculation in medical schools. Critics have questioned whether these ceremonies can successfully combine the themes of professionalism and humanism, as well as whether the white coat is an appropriate symbol. ⋯ The WCCs studied did not celebrate the status of an elite class, but marked the beginning of educational, personal and professional formation processes and urged matriculants to develop into doctors 'worthy of trust'. The ceremonies centred on the persons entering the vocation, who were invited to affirm its calling and obligations by donning a symbolic garb, and to join an ancient and modern tradition of healing and immersion in their community. The schools' articulated construct of the white coat situated it as a symbol of humanism. This study's findings may clarify and guide schools' choices in designing their own WCCs.
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Authentic early experience (AEE) describes experiences provided to new medical students to undertake 'human contact' to enhance learning. Although the concept of AEE is not new, and was commonplace prior to the Flexner Report of 1910, little is known about how or why meaning and knowledge are constructed through early student placements in medical, social and voluntary workplaces. Variance among settings means AEE is a collection of non-uniform, complex educational interventions which require students to make repeated transitions between different workplaces and their university institution. The purpose of this paper is to develop theory in this context. ⋯ We demonstrate how meaning making can be conceived of as student mētis arising from social processes in students' learning interactions. We suggest that the development of collaborative working with students could potentiate positive forms of student mētis, thereby maximising desirable educational consequences. Further work is required to establish effective ways to do this.