This is excellent. I retired from the university in 2014 and a lot of what you write about here was already happening then. I started teaching in the early 1980s and by the time I retired, I hardly recognized what the academy had become. From what I hear from colleagues who are still working, things have gotten considerably worse in the past decade. As you point out, it is really the students who end up on the short end of the stick. It doesn't seem that there are any winners based on the way things are going.
It won’t matter what they know or do not know. The electronic clipboard (used by first responders) will tell them what they are supposed to do next. Medicine is being reduced to a CDC HHS approved flowchart. It will not end well.
I’m going to start seeing a witch doctor. At least I’ll know the person who made up the made up “treatments”.
Oct 5, 2023·edited Oct 5, 2023Liked by Steve Templeton, PhD.
What are your thoughts about these changes to medical license test requirements? I don't have the background to know if they are meaningful. But it seems to me that making it easier to get a license isn't a good thing. What say you?
Revisiting the Utility of U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 3
"As medical practice has become more specialized, the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 3 has become outdated. In recent years, there have been substantial changes to the USMLE Step examinations, with Step 1 transitioning to pass/fail scoring and the elimination of Step 2 Clinical Skills. These changes bring us to a unique time of reflection on the purpose and structure of Step 3. Considering its history and aims within the current landscape of medical practice and licensure, we believe that the present structure of Step 3 is impractical and burdensome."
This is excellent. I retired from the university in 2014 and a lot of what you write about here was already happening then. I started teaching in the early 1980s and by the time I retired, I hardly recognized what the academy had become. From what I hear from colleagues who are still working, things have gotten considerably worse in the past decade. As you point out, it is really the students who end up on the short end of the stick. It doesn't seem that there are any winners based on the way things are going.
It won’t matter what they know or do not know. The electronic clipboard (used by first responders) will tell them what they are supposed to do next. Medicine is being reduced to a CDC HHS approved flowchart. It will not end well.
I’m going to start seeing a witch doctor. At least I’ll know the person who made up the made up “treatments”.
What are your thoughts about these changes to medical license test requirements? I don't have the background to know if they are meaningful. But it seems to me that making it easier to get a license isn't a good thing. What say you?
Revisiting the Utility of U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 3
American College of Physicians
Annals of Internal Medicine, July, 2023
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-0695
"As medical practice has become more specialized, the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 3 has become outdated. In recent years, there have been substantial changes to the USMLE Step examinations, with Step 1 transitioning to pass/fail scoring and the elimination of Step 2 Clinical Skills. These changes bring us to a unique time of reflection on the purpose and structure of Step 3. Considering its history and aims within the current landscape of medical practice and licensure, we believe that the present structure of Step 3 is impractical and burdensome."
Great piece. A very different type of learning occurs in more intense relational environments, that allows for complexity you can't get from the "just the fragmented facts" methodologies. If you're interested, this is how the human brain learns. https://empathy.guru/2016/07/03/the-neurobiology-of-education-and-critical-thinking-how-do-we-get-there/
Just what the medical community needs when they're already having trouble with doctor shortages. Scary stuff