Life Cycle: integrated, interactive and relevant learning for medical students

摘要

'The hungry sheep Look up and are not fed' (John Milton, Lycidas) Milton wrote these words decrying the idle and ineffectual preachers of his time, but they should be a continuing spur to all teachers now. How do we enthuse and inform the keen, enquiring and (increasingly) postmodern student mind effectively? The societal and global landscape presents a curriculum far beyond conventional boundaries. This was recognised clearly in Tomorrow's Doctors, which called for a fundamental change in medical education. Yetattempting to meet these competing demands has often led to lopsided and (for both students and their teachers) trying and irrelevant content. Knowledge in isolation is both unappealing and unhelpful, but effective integration requires innovation and imagination. This paper describes one approach to these challenges: directing students towards the required tools, and training them in their use.