INTRODUCTIONSelf-directed learning has been recommended as a promising methodology for lifelong learning in medicine. However, the concept of self-directed learning continues to be elusive, with students and educators finding difficulty in defining it and agreeing on its worth.

METHODSIn this paper we review the literature of self-directed learning in health professions education and present a framework based on Malcolm Knowles' key components of self-directed learning.

RESULTSThe key components of self-directed learning are: the educator as a facilitator, identification of learning needs, development of learning objectives, identification of appropriate resources, implementation of the process, commitment to a learning contract and evaluation of learning. Several but not all of these components are often described in the published literature.

CONCLUSIONAlthough the presented framework provides some consistency for educators interested in applying SDL methods, future studies are needed to standardise self-directed learning curricula and to determine the effectiveness of these components on educational outcomes.

Education, Continuing ; Educational Status ; Health Occupations ; education ; Humans ; Learning ; Professional Competence ; Self-Assessment

INTRODUCTIONCore curricula including Ethics, Medico-legal issues, Socioeconomics, and Quality Improvement (QI) are relevant and significant for graduate medical education programmes, regardless of specialty. A lack of faculty expertise in these content areas is a frequently cited concern among specialty programmes in graduate medical education. We report the results of an institutional systems-approach to assist this challenge. Our institution has 86 post-graduate residency and fellowship training programmes serving 1068 learners. Directors of these programmes expressed the need for a centralised approach to teach learners about insurance systems and the basics of QI.

MATERIALS AND METHODSTwo subject matter experts in the fields of insurance systems and 1 expert in QI conducted 2 institution-wide didactics on each of the content areas, attended by 192 and 225 learners respectively.

RESULTSSignificant improvement in learner knowledge was noted for all 3 knowledge-based questions for both content areas (P <0.0001). Learner self-assessment of knowledge of insurance systems increased from a pre-session mean of 2.86 to a post-session mean of 3.80 (P <0.0001) and from 3.29 to a post-session mean of 4.17 (P <0.0001) for the QI didactics.

CONCLUSIONSystems-wide didactic sessions for learners of different residencies has several advantages including the efficient use of content experts, prevention of resource burnout, and cost effectiveness. This strategy may also assist programmes directors in meeting external accreditation requirements.

Curriculum ; Education, Medical, Graduate ; organization & administration ; Feedback ; Organizational Case Studies ; Quality Assurance, Health Care ; Safety Management ; Students, Medical