RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN MEDICAL-EDUCATION

Education should be practiced with attention to principles derived from both the research in medical education and the practical experience of health professions instructors. The authors summarize both the major questions addressed by researchers in medical education during recent years and some of the answers. This paper is divided into four major categories of questions that correspond to the areas of an instructor's responsibility: 1) curricular trends, 2) instruction, 3) evaluation of learners, and 4) evaluation of teaching. It focuses largely on the undergraduate medical curriculum, although many of the conclusions could be applied to graduate education as well.