Understanding medical education

Abstract

It was the nuclear physicist and father of the hydrogen bomb, Edmund Teller, who once wrote (perhaps rather alarmingly) 'Confusion is no bad thing; it is the first step towards understanding'.(1,p. 79) Newcomers to the field of medical education could be forgiven for being confused.Medical education is a busy, clamorous place, where a host of pedagogical practices, educational philosophies and conceptual frameworks collide.It is a place where academic journals vie for attention, institutions and professional bodies compete for political leverage, and the wheel of reform and 'improvement' revolves faster than, and often independently of, the cycle of evaluation and research.And it is a place of increasing accountability and regulation because of its proximity to one of the prime socio-political concerns of government, that of the health of its people.It was the desire to develop evidence-based policy and practice in this complex arena that led to the establishment of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) in 1957.The past 50 years have seen a burgeoning of literature in the field.This is both a help and a challenge to the clinician taking on responsibilities for teaching, assessment and educational supervision.The range and diversity of relevant theory and research are now almost overwhelming, and in 2006 ASME recognised the need for a succinct yet comprehensive guide to the vast literature now underpinning best practice in medical education.Understanding Medical Education aims to be that guide.