Medical education
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Review Historical Article
Looking back to the future: a message for a new generation of medical educators.
Many changes in medical education have occurred during the author's 50-year career in the field. The aim of this paper is to describe 10 lessons worth recording for others engaged in the training of health care professionals. ⋯ The following lessons have been learned. (i) People are important as role models and collaborators. (ii) Innovation in medical education is a complex process and research findings can easily be misinterpreted. (iii) Nudges, interventions that encourage rather than mandate change, are valuable. (iv) Students are important players in planning, delivering and evaluating a curriculum. Each student has different needs and aspirations. They are the 'digital natives'. (v) Offer stakeholders practical solutions to problems that can be implemented. (vi) There is always something to learn outside one's own practice. Go to a conference or read a journal in a related field. (vii) Time spent recording one's work and publishing reports based on it is rewarding. (viii) Learn from history. We don't need to keep reinventing the wheel. (ix) Obtain independent funding. (x) Finally, and most importantly, have fun. Working in medical education can be exciting, fulfilling and hugely enjoyable.