Placing the patient at the core of teaching

Background: In the revised undergraduate medical programme at the University of Dundee, medical students visit a patient with a chronic illness in the patient’s own home. Students’ learn about the patient’s experience of their chronic illness/disease over time. It is known as ‘the patient journey’. The concept of ‘the patient journey’ emerged from Tomorrow’s Doctors (2003) in light of the need to increase community-based education.
Description: The evaluation was carried out using a focus group. Students indicated that community-based education can show them real life in a home context; early contact with a patient enabled them to have a better nderstanding of patient-centred medicine; meeting a patient early brings reality and continuity to their careers and a clearer understanding of the patient’s condition.
Conclusions: Further work may clarify the specific long-term values of the patient visit and how it may support teaching and learning within the first three years of the curriculum.