Work based learning

In the past medical students and doctors did much of their learning in lecture halls. They then sat an examination or some other type of formal assessment. Their learning had a specific end point, when they picked up a degree or certificate. Most doctors thought that this was “proper learning” and that all other learning was somehow not up to scratch.

The problem with this type of learning is that it misses out a lot of informal learning. It misses out the learning that takes place when you ask a colleague for advice, or answer a patient's question by looking up a website, or solve a problem by setting up a meeting with colleagues. The concept of work based learning tries to capture and to quantify this learning. Barr defined work based learning as learning that takes place at work or learning that takes place away from work with the objective of improving performance at work.¹ Work based learning fits in closely with how doctors now learn. It involves keeping up to date with new developments, learning to satisfy personal as well as professional goals, learning with and from colleagues from various disciplines, learning about non-clinical as well as clinical topics, and, most importantly, learning in order to directly improve care for patients.

We have based bmjlearning.com on the principles of work based learning. Certainly most of our users can and do use the website at their workplace, and we try to publish material that users say they need on a daily basis in their work. Many users have requested a learning module on how to deal with a patient whom they suspect is a victim of domestic abuse. Traditionally this topic has been the source of much rhetoric and little action, and, although primary care workers have received some training on it, many feel that the training was not tailored to meet their needs.

We have tried to overcome these shortcomings in our new module on how to care for victims of domestic abuse. The module gives specific advice on which patients you should ask about domestic abuse and how you should ask them. It points out how the whole care team can help with such patients' medical and social needs. If you want practical advice on this subject, try our new learning module on bmjlearning.com.