Approaches to Learning of Medical Students and Practising Physicians: some empirical evidence and its implications for medical education

This paper is a review of a sustained research effort in the field of learning styles and approaches to learning. In particular it focuses on how various aspects of the medical school environment (teaching, curriculum, assessment) effect students approach to their learning. It also shows that the more desirable ‘deep approach’ to learning is not as apparent in conventional medical schools as in the innovative problem‐based medical schools. The implications of these findings for undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education are explored. Finally, there is an attempt to identify individual students who have learning problems and, thus, are at risk of academically underachieving.