ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the role of autonomous learning in the drive to aid practitioners in adapting their skills, and discusses the potential for negative effects due to the presence of a hidden curriculum. As the need for specialized knowledge and training has increased, so too has the traditional physician job changed from being a "cowboy" to participating as a "pit crew" member. Medical professionals today must be capable of frequent, high-quality teamwork and collaboration, such as communicating effectively with other personnel and patients. Autonomous, informal learning is unstructured, experiential learning controlled by the individual. Healthcare organizations, more than ever before, need to capitalize on informal learning experiences to make up for the fact that professionals: are not able to garner all necessary technical skills in formal training programs due to time constraints and the dynamic nature of the competencies required for effectiveness, and are not learning adequate effective interpersonal skills in educational settings.
