Visible and Invisible: A Qualitative Study Exploring Physicians' Lifelong Learning in Clinical Practice

• In Event: Experiential and Active Learning in Professions Education

Abstract

How physicians conceptualize and pursue lifelong learning has implications for what they teach and model to learners. We explored these aspects of lifelong learning to better understand what physicians-in-practice model to learners. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 34 faculty at one institution from multiple specialties, ranks and sites. We used a general qualitative approach with a constructivist orientation and identified themes through an iterative analytic process. We organized our themes around two dimensions of learning: competence and caring. Participants described efforts to share their professional lifelong learning with learners; they also acknowledged times when their learning was intentionally or unintentionally not visible to learners. Our findings suggest potential opportunities for physicians to more deliberately model lifelong learning.

Authors

• Sally Collins, University of California - San Francisco

• Lindsey Haddock, University of California - San Francisco

• Josette Rivera, University of California - San Francisco

• Bridget Colleen O'Brien, University of California - San Francisco