Medical Education

‘Medical education’ is an umbrella term for programmes concerned with educating doctors. The term is often used synonymously with ‘health profession education’ which incorporates the education of other clinical groups such as nurses and pharmacists. ‘Medical education’ spans a continuum from university to postgraduate education, extending to the continuous professional development of practising clinicians. Whilst acknowledging this continuum, this entry is predominantly concerned with medical education to the point of initial graduation as qualified doctors, which typically centres around institutions termed ‘medical schools’. The vocational nature of medical education and its alignment to professional qualifications make it distinctive within higher education.

This entry first describes the particular societal drivers behind medical education and then provides a historical overview of its development. It goes on to address ...