ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the usual methods of medical education, and finds it not too surprising that even the latest techniques of consultation teaching have their shortcomings. It takes a critical look at the various educational methods so far available to teach clinical skills in general, and consultation skills in particular. There are some shortcomings in the existing methods, and part of the difficulty trainees sometimes have in learning consultation skills is the result of limitations inherent in the teaching methods currently in use. Traditional teaching methods like lectures and ward-rounds tend to be used 'because we've always done it that way', rather than because they're necessarily the best way to get a particular lesson across. The Educational Paradigm is an educationist's simplified model of how to teach people, just as history, examination and special tests is a doctor's simplified model of how to diagnose people.
