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The article presents an essay on the life and work of artist Francisco Goya. He was essentially self-taught as an artist, his self-sufficiency was developed early when he was a boy. He was taught by the Escolapian fathers in a monastic school. They used extraordinarily advanced teaching methods which were unlike those of the more traditional Jesuits. They encouraged pupils to rely on their own individual faculties, to observe, to make one's own deductions from personal experience, to discover the flexibility of the mind, and to assume responsibility for assimilating as much knowledge as possible.

This article presents the results of Phase one of a three-year project aiming to enhance the role of practice educators, i.e. practitioners who supervise students on practice placements. This project was funded by the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL) which supports projects aimed at stimulating developments in teaching and learning in higher education that are disseminated across the higher education sector. A review of the literature found no evidence of a common preparation route for practice educators. However, a number of key points emerged in each of these four aspects, which are nature and effectiveness of practice education, interprofessional learning, intercultural issues and role of the practice educator. Questionnaire, focus group and secondary data were used to collect data that informed case studies for five selected disciplines: dietetics, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and radiography. Analysis of these five case studies resulted in recommendations being made for each of the five disciplines. The case studies identified variation in the organisation of practice placements. A need to improve the status of the role of practice educator was a central issue for all five healthcare disciplines. In addition, an increasing demand for quality student placements that are resourced by practice educators means practice educators need effective preparation and support. Six key themes were identified as central to the effectiveness of preparing practitioners for their role as practice educators. The next phase of the project team will involve the development and dissemination of existing innovations that are considered by the project team as being central to the role of the practice educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the author's personal experience of reflective learning in a group of general practitioner registrars. Process of identifying learning needs through reflection; Introduction of the basic theory behind reflective learning; Discussion on identifying the learning needs through the use of problem-based learning cases.

Presents information on the aspects of general practitioner appraiser stress arising from the appraisal process. Suggestions for appraisers as to how those stresses might be lessened or managed; Stress arising from aspects of the appraisal process; Discussion on how disruptive stresses may be lessened or managed so that appraisers' energy is focused on meeting appraisees' needs.

Presents the author's views on effective teaching supervision. Ideas and skills necessary for doing effective supervision; Impart factual knowledge while maintaining a facilitative stance in supervision; Information on work based learning in primary care.

Web quests offer a structured inquiry-orientated learning method that takes advantage of the vast range of information resources that are available on the internet. An important aspect is the development of transferable skills that are required for the effective retrieval and appraisal of information obtained from the internet. The work based learning potential of web quests can be increased by modifying the original approach to include tasks related to identified learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activity theory offers a broad approach, both theoretical and practical, to understanding and developing work based learning. The main focus of activity theory is the effect of culturally mediated artefacts within an activity system. Analysis of the components of an activity system is a useful tool for reflective practice since it recognises the importance of cultural influences and also that activity occurs within a social system. The use of expansive learning offers additional insights that can be used to challenge underlying beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specialist, innovative and flexible knowledge services must be developed to meet the training needs of primary care teams and primary care trust staff in the implementation of the Knowledge and Skills Framework for Agenda for Change. This could be addressed by formal and online training options, but we suggest that permanent outreach librarians should be enabled to play an integral part in this training by bringing their skills directly into the workplace. This could be especially useful for busy staff researching particular topics and would also be an effective way to promote the use of evidence based practice and better use of computers. To achieve and ensure an appropriate level of service to this group of staff, dedicated funding is needed to support the delivery and promotion of outreach training by librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the importance of the library to work based education. Interests in learning methods and decision support systems; Uncertainties encountered in primary care medicine; Presumption that many clinicians may not or cannot make full use of electronic media holds.