Pixel International Conferences

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is the professional medical College of over 15,000 physicians and 7,500 trainee physicians, often referred to as medical specialists, in Australia and New Zealand. Due to the complex and applied nature of the medical profession, continuous learning is an absolute priority which involves specific challenges, such as the constantly evolving state of knowledge and the extensive diversity within the scopes of practice of different specialties. The College operates in a fast-paced environment, characterised by profound change – driven by rapid advances in medical knowledge, shifts in patterns of disease, new technologies, and changing regulatory frameworks. Medical specialists mainly learn on the job in teaching hospital settings, a learning practice which is characterized by specific dynamics and contextual elements (hospital hierarchy, high level of responsibility while still in training, long hours shift, etc.). To provide effective learning opportunities in such a complex environment the College has invested resources to identify a suitable theoretical framework that could ensure expected learning outcomes. The theoretical framework has been developed through applied research and rigorous evaluation processes. It comprises four different approaches to adult education, namely, learning by doing, experiential learning, progressive learning and lifelong learning. The framework has been applied to the design and development of the e-learning resources the College produces every year. Its effectiveness is being regularly evaluated using analytics that indicate excellent level of users’ engagement and satisfaction.

Keywords: Medical education, experiential learning, learning on the job;

References
[1] Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall, Oxford, England
[2] Burns, R. (2002). The Adult Learner at Work. Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, Australia
[3] Fenwick, T. (2003). Learning through experience. Malabar, Florida: Krieger
[4] Merriam, S. and Bierema, L. (2013). Adult Learning. Linking Theory and Practice, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA
[5] Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Organization, 7(2), pp.225-246.