The relationship between education & training and the development of competency (Russian version edited by Z.Z. Balkizov)
AbstractThe essence of modern medical education lies in the ability of defining and developing its terminology, which all too often is used in a less than thoughtful and inappropriate manner. Educationalists place emphasis upon the concept of learning rather than teaching; learning which is specifically student-centered and student-directed learning rather than teacher-centred didactic teaching. However within this change environment we still prefer to use the word training, as in vocational training for a specific specialty, to describe a specific programme and aspire to levels of competency that hopefully match the learning outcomes of the programme. This article opens the debate on whether the satisfactory completion of a learning programme is sufficient (cf completion of a specific vocational training scheme) or whether we should be assessing the learner through levels of defined competency relevant to their professional career.
“Personally I am always ready to learn, although I do not always like to be taught”.
Sir Winston Churchill
Meditsinskoe obrazovanie i professional’noe razvitie [Medical Education and Professional Development]. 2012; (2): 65–9.