Expressive instructions: ethnographic insights into the creativity and improvisation entailed in teaching physical skills to medical students.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Creativity and improvisation are recognized as important aspects of training expertise in domains such as business and the arts, yet rarely discussed in medical education. This article examines how creativity and improvisation play out in the ways teachers give 'expressive instructions' to medical students when teaching physical skills.

Methods

Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a medical school in Maastricht, the Netherlands, with first, second and third year students learning physical examination skills. Over 230 h of fieldwork was conducted in the Skills Lab, including 34 tutorials of 1.5 h duration, with 11 different teachers and over 500 students. Patterns found in the fieldnotes were thematically analyzed using an inductive approach, drawing on sociol

SUBMITTER: Harris A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6086817 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature