title: As the medical education curriculum is changing, it is still good to train students and physicians in many different patient locations.
abstract: Medical teaching methods are changing with students now encouraged to be self-learners, accruing more knowledge themselves, receiving less didactic instruction, utilizing more peer group interactions, and using more portable self-accessible technology to get medical information. Medical school curriculums are adapting with more simulated instruction, group analysis of clinical problems (problem-based learning), earlier exposure to patients and their evaluation, volunteer medical missions, and participation in relevant clinical research. But will these changes, especially the use of portable technology for retrieving medical information, enhance learning, and improve devising clinical strategy? To build clinical skills and confidence, it still seems relevant for the students and clinicians to evaluate patients in multiple locations under various circumstances. This is perhaps necessary during all phases of medical study, post-graduate training, research investigation, and in a medical career, including later phases when senior and elder faculty participate in medical teaching and/or provide health care. The emphasis of this perspective is to assess some of these clinical "settings" that reinforce learning skills and flexible clinical approaches.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive C5860 H041, Hershey, PA, 17033, USA, hreynolds@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: Herbert Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Reynolds
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003198:Computer Simulation / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends*; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000639:trends; D008297:Male; D063731:Mobile Applications / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018794:Problem-Based Learning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States