ABSTRACT
Introduction The opportunities for learning and teaching in MDV education are immense. For a start, it is not enough for strategies to be just student-centred; they must be patient-centred as well. They must also be robust enough to enable teachers and learners to handle the various third party, individual and corporate forces that can either enhance or impinge upon the care of patients. Effective strategies often entail situated learning, which ranges from tertiary level to working within the community. The long length of the course and potentially invasive nature of treatment often dictate a favourable ratio of staff to students, which can be exploited. However, some foci in MDV education are very short of staff. The team healthcare approach at work can also be simulated in MDV education through interprofessional education and vertical integration of student years and extended into concepts of lifelong learning in postgraduate courses. Effective communication is an essential skill in MDV practice that can be taught and assessed. The practitioner needs to master a range of information technology (IT) skills and writing genres, within a multidisciplinary environment. Few fields outside the MDV world offer the possibilities of depth and range of activity, which teachers can use to nurture new reflective practitioners who, using best evidence, can attempt to treat patients optimally.
