Keeping up: learning in the workplace -- Wyatt and Sullivan 331 (7525): 1129 -- BMJ

Keeping up: learning in the workplace -- Wyatt and Sullivan 331 (7525): 1129 -- BMJ: "The amount of biomedical knowledge doubles every 20 years, and new classes of drug (such as phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors) become available when lectures at medical school are over. Therefore, a practice risks fossilising after doctors finish professional training. Many continuing medical education or continuing professional development activities help doctors carry on learning and improving their skills. These activities include courses, conferences, mailed educational materials, weekly grand rounds, journal clubs, and using internet sites. In many countries, evidence of this process is needed for doctors to continue to practice. Although these activities may increase knowledge, their impact on clinical practice is variable
The aim of traditional medical education is to commit knowledge to memory and then use this knowledge in the workplace. The way knowledge is learnt influences its recall and application to work. One tactic to improve the process is to ensure that learning happens in the clinical workplace. Lessons are learnt faster and recalled more reliably when they originate in everyday experience. "/.../