Medical teacher
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Not many set up a new medical school, so those that do usually do it only once. Thus most have no personal previous experience to guide them. ⋯ It is hoped that these suggestions will be widely applicable to different contexts and assist those in the exciting task of setting up a new school.
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Recent changes in postgraduate medical training curricula usually encompass a shift towards more formative assessment, or assessment for learning. However, though theoretically well suited to postgraduate training, evidence is emerging that engaging in formative assessment in daily clinical practice is complex. ⋯ Engaging in formative assessment with a genuine impact on learning is complex and quite a challenge to both trainees and supervisors. Individual perspectives on feedback, a supportive learning environment and credibility of feedback are all important in this process. Every one of these should be taken into account when the utility of formative assessment in postgraduate medical training is evaluated.
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The advent of new medical education (ME) journals makes evident the growth of the field of ME. However, the nature and context of growth is undefined. ⋯ The increase in the number of ME publications and in the number of journals publishing ME articles suggests a supportive environment for a growing field; but variation in journals' foci has implications for readers, editors and authors.
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Both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in Poland are currently undergoing a significant reform, based on new national educational standards, arising from European Union recommendations. This article describes the previous system and the new approach to medical curriculum, draws a picture of the current situation and discusses the impact of this educational change on the quality of future graduates.
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Workplace-based assessment is more commonly given a lukewarm than a warm welcome by its prospective users. In this article, we summarise the workplace-based assessment literature as well as our own experiences with workplace-based assessment to derive lessons that can facilitate acceptance of workplace-based assessment in postgraduate specialty training. We propose to shift the emphasis in workplace-based assessment from assessment of trainee performance to the learning of trainees. ⋯ One of the most stubborn problems with workplace-based assessment is the absence of observation of trainees and the lack of feedback based on observations. Non-standardised observations are used to organise feedback. To make these assessments meaningful for learning, it is essential that they are not perceived as summative by their users, that they provide narrative feedback for the learner and that there is a form of facilitation that helps to integrate the feedback in trainees' self-assessments.