Beth Cummings

 

"Between the time I started medical school and the time I completed my residency, I developed the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of a physician. Along the way, I became interested in not only what I was learning, but the process of medical education. I wanted to learn key concepts in medical education and how best to apply them to the training of students and residents in my institution. The MHPE programme at Maastricht University was an obvious choice. The experience of distance based learning appealed to me right from the start. Because I continue to do clinical work while completing the distance based MHPE coursework, I am not learning abstract concepts; I can immediately and concretely apply what I learn in the programme to my day-to-day work. Although at times having clinical and teaching responsibilities while completing the MHPE programme can seem like a challenge, I benefit enormously from the support of my colleagues. The MHPE programme encourages us to work together – sharing ideas, knowledge, and resources. By collaborating with my fellow students, I have learned more than the basics of health professions education. I quickly learned that my colleagues and I have a lot in common, despite living on different continents and having different job descriptions. We all want to foster excellence in health professions education and excellence in patient care. We all meet challenges inherent to working in healthcare and educational systems. Most importantly, we all hope that by improving health professions education in our institutions we will not only improve the experience for students but also for patients."

Beth Cummings, Canada
MHPE student 2006

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