Successful IME programs using adult learning principles: Part 1 (Self-directed learning)

Introduction to the blog series

When designing educational programs (and especially within med ed), understanding how adults learn is paramount. Why? Because we need to make sure that the teaching reaches the audience, keeps them engaged, and that learners can retain the knowledge and use it. 

With today’s problem of information overload, as well as the speed of research and development, it’s even harder to achieve these things. But fear not – it can be done!

In this blog series, I’m going to dip into the core principles of adult learning…  AKA the handbook of educational design that we at Springer Healthcare IME use when constructing our programs. Each blog will look at a different principle and how we have used these principles in our successful programs.

I would love to know what you think. Do these formats resonate with you? Would you have done anything differently with an educational program? Please send me a message at caroline.halford@springer.com or via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-halford/  and I’ll get back to you.

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Self-Directed Learning: give the learners choices about how, what, and when they learn

For every IME program, learners will all have different learning styles, different knowledge bases, and different schedules.  

When I worked for the Springer Nature journals, I used to get asked all the time “What is the best enhanced feature to publish alongside an article?” Or “Which feature will help readers learn the key info?” But in truth, there is no one-size-fits-all.   

For example, one physician might have a lot of foundational knowledge, likes downloading text PDFs, and has a busy caseload. Another might be new to the field, prefers listening to experts, and works part time.  

To engage both groups, providing programs with multiple formats, available on-demand, and multiple jumping-on points is a great way forward. It allows learners to choose topics of interest or relevance to their specialties, fostering a sense of autonomy and ownership over their learning journey.

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Using this principle within Springer Healthcare IME programs

One of my favourite examples of self-directed learning is this program called “Precision medicine advances in thyroid cancer: translating clinical evidence into practice”.* We delivered a live symposium for learners that wanted that ‘face to face’ experience and the opportunity to ask the faculty questions, plus an on-demand webcast available afterwards for those who couldn’t travel to the meeting. There was also an on-demand option so that learners could choose the time of engagement. After the meeting, we delivered a series of vodcasts (video and audio) for a deeper dive into the symposium topics, in bitesize formats. Finally, we launched a series of interactive case studies so that learners could test their learning in a safe environment.

Using this range of formats allowed learners to choose their method of engagement, which contributes to the sense of autonomy and self-directed learning.

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*This program was funded by a grant for Independent Medical Education provided by Lilly. The Company has had no input to the content