title: Medicine as a performing art: a worthy metaphor.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite numerous calls for reform over several decades, medical educators have been unable to address many significant challenges. Potentially, employing new metaphors and looking at the teaching and learning of medicine in a new way will facilitate the development of creative solutions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this paper we propose the metaphor of medicine as a performing art. Building on this metaphor, string music education is compared to medical education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Looking to string education as a model, suggestions for reorganisation of learning experiences, academic structure and assessment are discussed. Medical educators are encouraged to think about the challenges they face in creative ways. By looking outside traditional medical education, solutions may be found to new and old educational dilemmas.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor 48109-0624, USA. woolli@umich.edu
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Woolliscroft
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D019365:Metaphor; D013192:Staff Development