Medical teacher
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Comparative Study
Primary care physicians in public and private sectors perceive different learning needs.
We compared the perceived learning needs of primary care physicians from the public and private sectors who responded to a questionnaire before taking educational courses in Family Medicine. They rated their perceived learning needs on 71 items of clinical practices and practice management on a scale of 1-10. The ratings of their learning needs were closely related to the perceived needs of their daily work. ⋯ Public physicians wished to improve their care of individual patients (e.g. skin, eye, ear-nose-throat problems). Private physicians were more concerned with professional development to improve their practice (e.g. audits, counselling, adult learning). Organizers of educational programmes should assess and discuss with physicians their expected learning needs at the planning stage of a programme.
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The anesthesia computer-controlled patient simulator offers a valuable experiential learning experience for undergraduate medical students. The purpose of this study was to gather students' opinions of the simulator learning experiences and to study and analyze their comments regarding the nature of the learning. All fourth-year medical students were invited to participate in a simulator session during their anesthesia rotation. ⋯ Some students indicated a lack of comfort in the environment but this did not appear to inhibit performance. Student comments highlighted the value of the learning experience and provided insights into the nature of the learning. The computer-controlled patient simulator offers new and challenging opportunities for medical students to apply their knowledge and practice working through an Anesthesia case without endangering patient safety.
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The objective of this paper is to examine some theory that appears to make a contribution to the Generic Instructors Courses (GICs) offered by the Advanced Life Support Group and the Resuscitation Council, UK. Accordingly, it is not an empirical study: rather it is a critical assessment of the contribution made by studies in adult learning to what is perceived and generally presented as an atheoretical course. ⋯ The paper will observe that each of these makes a contribution towards an understanding of the achievements of the GIC. The paper will conclude with a number of recommendations for some small-scale empirical work.