“Futuristic medical education”

Young, Louise; Wilkinson, David

doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2005.tb00043.x

Topics

Innovation, fitness to practise and medical education as a discipline were the themes of a recent colloquium

Medical education is currently under the spotlight both in Australia and internationally. It is, for example, influencing and being influenced by major global initiatives such as the International Campaign to Revitalise Academic Medicine (a collaboration of medical academics seeking to secure a vibrant future for academic medicine) and the recent Productivity Commission’s report on Australia’s health workforce, which highlighted the need for more responsive education and training.1,2 New medical schools are being established, with some seeking to develop innovative programs and access perceived niche markets.3 Some of these issues were debated at a conference in March 2005 hosted by the Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools.4

School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Herston, QLD.

Correspondence:

1. Wilkinson D, Ward RL. International Campaign to Revitalise Academic Medicine (ICRAM): what does it mean for Australia? Med J Aust 2004; 181: 658-659. <MJA full text>
2. Australian Government Productivity Commission. Australia’s health workforce. Position paper. Available at: http://www.pc.gov.au/study/healthworkforce/positionpaper/index.html (accessed Oct 2005).
3. Lawson K, Chew M, Van Der Weyden MB. The new Australian medical schools: daring to be different. Med J Aust 2004; 181: 662-666. <MJA full text>
4. Committee of Deans of Australian Medical Schools. Medical Education Conference; 2005 Mar 7–9; Canberra, Australia. Available at: http://www.mededconference.org.au/conference_outcomes.html (accessed Oct 2005).
5. Harden RM, Sowden S, Dunn WR. Some educational strategies in curriculum development: the SPICES model. Med Educ 1984; 18: 284-297.
6. Issenberg SB, McGaghie WC, Petrusa ER, et al. Features and uses of high-fidelity medical simulations that lead to effective learning: a BEME systematic review. Med Teach 2005; 27: 10-28.
7. Clark J. International Campaign to Revitalise Academic Medicine. Five futures for academic medicine. BMJ 2005; 331: 101-104.

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