Self-directed, lifelong learning is an important tenet of medical professionalism because it is integral to maintaining
professional competency.
1
,
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,
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Although patients may assume that physicians with more clinical experience provide
better patient care, the relationship between clinical experience and quality of care
is not as straightforward as it may seem. Recent graduates may continue to improve
their patient care in the first few years of practice as they garner additional clinical
experience. However, compared with physicians in practice fewer than 10 years, physicians
who have been in practice longer (more than 20 years) have declining knowledge of
current medical evidence and practice guidelines and provide lower quality of care
to their patients.
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Continued lifelong learning could prevent the deterioration of current medical knowledge
and the decline in quality of care seen over time. In recognition of this concern,
the Liaison Committee on Medical Education,
5
the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME),
Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Functions and Structure of a Medical School: Standards for Accreditation of Medical Education Programs Leading to the M.D. Degree. June 2010; Available at: http://www.lcme.org/functions2010jun.pdf; Accessed August 23, 2010.
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and the American Board of Medical Specialties Maintenance of Certification
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all identify lifelong learning as essential to the continuum of medical education.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
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Article Info
Footnotes
Dr Burke is the president of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
