Wilson Centre for Research in Education, University Health Network, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Med Educ. 2011 Jan;45(1):95-106. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03737.x.
One hundred years after the Flexner report remade medical education in North America, many countries are reviewing the purpose and organisation of medical education. In Canada, a national study is being undertaken to define important issues and challenges for the future of medical education. The objectives of this paper are to describe the process of conducting an empirical environmental scan at a national level, and to present the research findings of this scan.
Thirty national key informant interviews were conducted, transcribed and coded to identify key themes. Interview data were triangulated with data sourced from 34 commissioned literature reviews and a series of national focus groups.
Ten key issues or priorities were identified and used to generate detailed review papers used by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to create a blueprint for the evolution of medical education. The new priorities have major implications for areas ranging from admissions, curriculum content, educational process and the need to articulate the purpose and responsibilities of medical schools in society.
This research provides a case study of how an empirical research approach can be used to identify and validate priorities for changes in medical education at a national level. This approach may be of interest in other countries.
在《弗莱克斯纳报告》（Flexner report）重塑北美医学教育 100 年后，许多国家正在审查医学教育的目的和组织。在加拿大，正在进行一项全国性研究，以确定医学教育未来的重要问题和挑战。本文的目的是描述在国家层面进行实证环境扫描的过程，并介绍该扫描的研究结果。
对 30 名国家关键知情人进行了访谈，转录并编码以确定关键主题。访谈数据与来自 34 项委托文献综述和一系列国家焦点小组的数据进行了三角剖分。
确定了 10 个关键问题或优先事项，并将其用于生成详细的审查文件，这些文件被加拿大医学学院协会用来为医学教育的发展制定蓝图。新的优先事项对从招生、课程内容、教育过程到阐明医学院在社会中的目的和责任等各个领域都产生了重大影响。
本研究提供了一个案例研究，说明如何使用实证研究方法在国家层面确定和验证医学教育变革的优先事项。这种方法可能会引起其他国家的兴趣。
