Each year, the journal Medical Education produces a list of brief papers called 'Really Good Stuff: Lessons learned through innovation in medical education.' It usually contains some interesting ideas. Here is the latest edition. A peer-reviewed collection of short reports from around the world on innovative approaches to medical education (pages 1101–1102) Article first published online: 12 OCT 2014 | DOI: 10.1111/medu.12600 Introduction (page 1103) M Brownell Anderson Article first published online: 12 OCT 2014 | DOI: 10.1111/medu.12599 Multiple mini-interviews combined with group interviews in medical student selection (page 1104) Shih-Chieh Liao, Tzuen-Ren Hsiue, … [Read more...] about Really Good Stuff: Lessons learned through innovation in medical education
On being self taught
In my spare time, I dabble in woodwork. My dad was a builder, but he died before I realised how much I'd miss his knowledge and experience in later life. I've never done a woodworking course in my life (although Youtube makes a very good teacher), so perhaps I appreciated this post from 8th March all the more. The brief article (below) is about Sam Maloof, an inspirational and completely self taught woodworker. Check out some of the Youtube videos of his work. It's stunningly beautiful stuff. I'm a big believer in desire driving people to learn, and sometimes formal education can blunt that desire by replacing the things that you want to learn with somebody else's priorities and … [Read more...] about On being self taught
Teaching as Wayfinding (Hybrid Pedagogy)
Originally published here on 5th March 2015 by Eric Hudson The 21st century learning landscape demands a significant shift in the role, but not the importance, of the teacher. Smart use of relevant technology can help make that shift easier. In June of 2014, The Atlantic magazine published a piece by David Zweig: “How You Know Where You’re Going When You’re in the Airport.” The piece was a short profile of Jim Harding, a designer who created the “wayfinding system” at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world. His specialty? “The process of designing cues — from signage to lighting and color, even the architecture, anything at all — to help people navigate … [Read more...] about Teaching as Wayfinding (Hybrid Pedagogy)
Evidence-based medicine or micro-fascism?
We can already hear the objections. The term fascism represents an emotionally charged concept in both the political and religious arenas; it is the ugliest expression of life in the 20th century (180). Not my words, but those of Dave Holmes and Stuart Murray in their fabulous paper Deconstructing the evidence-based discourse in health sciences: Truth, power and fascism. The author's argument is that we desperately need to unmask the 'the hidden politics of evidence-based discourse' (181). A recent Australian report on the efficacy of homeopathy (link) has shown that "There was no reliable evidence from research in humans that homeopathy was effective for treating the range of health … [Read more...] about Evidence-based medicine or micro-fascism?
The role of families in paediatric physiotherapy: a critical analysis
Each day over the next week I'll post up an abstract for a paper being presented by a member of the Critical Physiotherapy Network at the In Sickness and In Health conference in Mallorca in June 2015. (You can find more information on the conference here.) The role of families in paediatric physiotherapy: a critical analysis. By Clarissa A.C: Araujo & Berta Paz Lourido In Spain, the early intervention services are addressed to the health care of children from 0 to 6 years old with developmental disorder or disability, as well as their families. In this study we present part of the results of a broader research project conducted in Majorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) with the aim of … [Read more...] about The role of families in paediatric physiotherapy: a critical analysis
No pain, no gain
Reading a recent book on Nurses and Midwives in Nazi Germany: The "Euthanasia Programs" by Susan Benedict and Linda Shields reminded me the that there is often a reluctance to research the darker sides to our professional histories. I remember Dave Holmes once telling me that he received some really aggressive and distressing criticism from his colleagues when his paper Killing for the state: The darkest side of American nursing was published. It seems that people within nursing took exception to someone questioning the morality of nurses who made people comfortable on death row in preparation for the electric chair and the lethal injection. In some ways I can understand this kind of … [Read more...] about No pain, no gain
‘La Masseuse’ by Degas
Originally modelled in plastiline clay in the mid-1890s, this version cast in bronze after 1918. Height 42cm Best known for his impressionist painting, sculpture was for Degas mainly a private activity. He thought of his sculptures like sketches or drawings, as a way of developing a composition. 'La Masseuse' is Degas’ only two-figure sculpture. The masseuse massages the thigh of a naked woman, who holds her buttock in relief or pain. The emphasis of 'La Masseuse' on the effects of physical activity on bare female flesh highlights the artists dedication to depicting human, and in particular female, endeavour. Information courtesy of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (link). … [Read more...] about ‘La Masseuse’ by Degas