Abstract
Constant self-evaluation and lifelong learning skills are some of the key characteristics of competent healthcare professionals. Additionally, the ability to set goals and use feedback to enhance performance has been identified as one of the core competencies for entering medical students. This chapter uses educational theories to describe the lifelong learning skills required for academic success. This chapter also provides recommendations to pre-health programs on strategies that support the development of these skills. The recommendations include general strategies to foster self-regulated learning and specific academic coaching strategies that promote the holistic development of pre-health professional students.
TopBackground
The fundamental element of providing quality patient-centered care is “addressing and incorporating diversity in care, health promotion and patient engagement” (Santana et al., 2018, p. 432). This approach requires a multidisciplinary and culturally competent healthcare workforce that is representative of the diverse population with regards to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. Healthcare organizations have made concerted efforts to increase equity and representation among healthcare professionals through various initiatives. One example is Project 3000 by 2000, initiated by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in 1990. The project was a national campaign to increase the matriculation of medical students from underrepresented minority groups (URM). The goal was to increase the annual matriculation number of URM students from 1,485 to 3,000 by 2000 (Nickens et al., 1994). The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) reported a need to increase diversity among nursing students through recruitment and training of pre-health students from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds (Wakefield, 2014). Additionally, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) emphasized the importance of achieving diversity in classrooms to increase diversity in the healthcare workforce (Alonzo et al., 2019). This movement toward widening access to healthcare education initiated several pipeline programs that expanded options in healthcare careers for high school and graduate students from racial and ethnic minorities (Shields, 1994).
Key Terms in this Chapter
More Knowledgeable Other (MKO): Individuals who have a higher level of knowledge, skill, or experience.
Self-Regulated Learning: A cyclical process involving the formulation of learning goals, application of strategies to monitor the advancement toward these goals, followed by reflecting on said performance.
Zone of Proximal Development: The distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.
Coaching: A collaborative and developmental approach where a more experienced person (coach) helps learner to reach their maximum potential through questioning and challenging.
Self-Assessment: An analysis and evaluation of one’s learning and performance.
Higher-Order Reasoning: A level of thinking that is higher than basic memorization and recall. Some examples include application, analysis, evaluation, and creation.
Reflection: A type of thinking that involves processing thoughts and feelings related to an event, idea, or experience.
Underrepresented Minority in Medicine: Underrepresented racial and ethnic populations in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.
Appreciative Inquiry: A strength-based approach to create sustainable change.
Metacognition: A type of higher-order thinking involving active control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning.