What makes for success in medical education?: Medical Education Study: a synthesis

This synthesis report was commissioned by the Department of Education, Science and Training to bring together relevant background information and findings from all research activities related to the Australian Medical Education Study (AMES). The report responds to the overarching question for the study: What makes for success in medical education? The research methods used comprised a submissions process, literature reviews, and the gathering of new data via fieldwork carried out within Australia during the period under review (2005-2007). Three strands of inquiry were established to focus on aspects of wide-ranging debates occurring within medical education which could add value to currently available knowledge, namely: (1) investigate ways in which current undergraduate medical education prepares students for internship; (2) investigate ways in which current undergraduate medical education prepares students for postgraduate specialty training and research; and (3) analyse aspects of the clinical education component of the undergraduate medical education curriculum. Key findings of the study are summarised in terms of the eight research questions posed by the AMES Steering Committee: (1) What are the educational outcomes, particularly expected competencies, for graduates who are completing their undergraduate medical degrees and entering internship? (2) What are the educational outcomes, particularly expected competencies, for graduates completing their undergraduate medical degrees and entering postgraduate education? (3) How well does undergraduate medical education prepare students for their role as interns and their transition to postgraduate specialist training? (4) Which areas of study/content and methods of learning/teaching delivery and assessment methods have been most and least successful in preparing students for internship and specialty training, including research? Why? (5) How is undergraduate clinical education in Australia currently organised and delivered, and what are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the current arrangements? (6) What types and level of clinical exposure do undergraduate medical students need to prepare them both for internship and for further specialist training and how effective are the different types of clinical exposure in preparing medical students for internship and specialist training? Are medical students perceived to be getting the necessary clinical exposure? (7) What are the perceived strengths and weaknesses of current undergraduate medical education arrangements, and what are the challenges? (8) In what ways could undergraduate medical education be modified so as better to achieve the desired outcomes?

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