Continuous Adult Learning

Robert K. Schneider, MD

Departments of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine and Family Practice

The Medical College of Virginia at

the Virginia Commonwealth University

Richmond, Virginia

Continuous Adult Learning• Continuous

– Information that influences regular behaviors– NOT short term learning (cramming for tests) – Half-life of information is short

• Adult– “Can’t teach old dogs new tricks”– Windows of learning

• Learning– Information and Evidence– Skills and Behaviors

UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE

CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE

CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE

UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE

Active Learning• Uncomfortable• Self Assessment• Individual Learning Plan• Multimodal/Multisensory Learning

Passive Learning• Comfortable• External Assessment• External Requirements• Lectures/Highly Structured CME

Passive Learning

Active Learning

Why bother?

• You’re going to spend the time anyway?

• It’s good for your patients

• It’s fun

…well most of the time

Goals for this morning

• Don’t drool

• Individualized Learning Plan

• Teachers–YODAs

–Coach-Mentors

• Personal Libraries

Individualized Learning Plan• Self Assessment–Conscious Incompetence

–Unconscious Incompetence

• Resource Assessment–Written (paper vs eletronic)

–Conferences

Self Assessment• Conscious Incompetence–Patient question

–Clinical problem

• Unconscious Incompetence–Written assessment: MKSAP

–Evaluations

–Observed examinations

Resource Assessment• Written (paper vs eletronic)–Paper: textbooks, journals

–Electronic: Internet, CD ROMs

• Conferences–Local, State, National

–General vs. Specialized

Teachers

• YODAs

• Coach-Mentors

Your Own Data Analyst

• YODAs–Evidence in the literature is complex

–Filtering through it is difficult

–Find someone who has already done this

–Usually a specialist or someone with that area of interest

Coach-Mentors

Coach-Mentors• Peers/Colleagues– Journal Clubs

– “Peer supervision”

• Senior Leaders– Senior partner in a group

– Author of an article

• Teacher/Educators– Program directors

– Supervisors

– Project partners

Personal Libraries

• Organizational Matrix–Needs

–Use of information

–Type of information

• Format–Paper

–Electronic

Schneider’s Library