Evidence based medicine (EBM) has been synonymous to delivery of quality care for almost thirty years. Since the movement's inception, the assumption has been that decisions based on high quality evidence would translate to better care for patients. Despite EBM's many attractive features and the substantive attention it has received in the…

There are various educational methods used in anatomy teaching. While three dimensional (3D) visualization technologies are gaining ground due to their ever-increasing realism, reports investigating physical models as a low-cost 3D traditional method are still the subject of considerable interest. The aim of this meta-analysis is to quantitatively…

Simulation of disorders of respiratory mechanics shown by spirometry provides insight into the pathophysiology of disease but some clinically important disorders have not been simulated and none have been formally evaluated for education. We have designed simple mechanical devices which, along with existing simulators, enable all the main…

Although simulation training improves post-training performance, it is unclear how well performance soon after simulation training predicts longer term outcomes (i.e., learning). Here our objective was to assess the predictive value of performance 1 h post-training of performance 6 weeks later. We trained 84 first year medical students a simulated…

Despite limited data on patient outcomes, simulation training has already been adopted and embraced by a large number of medical schools. Yet widespread acceptance of simulation should not relieve us of the duty to demonstrate if, and under which circumstances, training learners on simulation benefits real patients. Here we review the data on…

This reflection is based on the premise that clinical education can be improved by more widespread use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and that a roadmap will enable more medical educators to begin using CAI. The rationale for CAI use includes many of its inherent features such as incorporation of multimedia and interactivity yet the use of…