The medical specialty that provides continuing, comprehensive health care for the individual and family. The specialty integrates the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences. The scope of family medicine encompasses all ages, both sexes, each organ system, and every disease entity (AAFP, 2010 AU43: The in-text citation "AAFP, 2010" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Published in Chapter:
Self-Directed Learning in Family Medicine
Theresa J. Barrett (New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians, USA)
Copyright: © 2014
|Pages: 23
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6260-5.ch009
Abstract
Self-directed learners are able to recognize their learning needs, set their learning goals, identify the resources necessary to accomplish those goals, implement learning strategies, and evaluate the results of their efforts (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991). Self-directedness is a skill that many adult learners possess. In an age when biomedical knowledge is increasing at a pace never before seen in human history, being a self-directed learner is not just a necessary skill, it is a critical one for family physicians. This chapter provides a brief overview of several self-directed learning models and the characteristics of self-directed learners, discusses self-directed learning in the context of continuing medical education, and provides an assessment of family physicians as self-directed learners.