Paradigms in medicine: consequences for medical education.

Paradigms play an important role in the natural sciences. Basic medical science has primary paradigms from which are derived secondary paradigms that allow the practice of medicine. Medical education consists in students acquiring this paradigm and in practitioners changing their paradigm in the light of medical research. Problem-solving plays an important role in the acquisition of this paradigm. Unless educators, especially basic scientists, are aware of their own paradigm, communicating with others who hold different paradigms can be difficult and cause serious misunderstanding.