“She Needs to Read More”: Helping Trainees Who Struggle with Medical Knowledge

Abstract

Medical trainees must be able to master large volumes of knowledge quickly to be academically successful and competent to practice clinically. About a third of struggling medical learners have insufficient medical knowledge. In this chapter, through case examples and use of Bloom’s taxonomy as a theoretical framework, the author demonstrates how medical knowledge deficits can be distinguished from other types of academic difficulty. Once a medical knowledge deficit is identified, strategies to address this should be tailored to the etiology of the problem. In the experience of the author, who is the founding director of a comprehensive remediation program serving medical students and residents, the most common predominant underlying causes for a significant medical knowledge deficit in medical students are lack of committed study time, distraction, and anxiety and poor self-confidence. Questions to help the learner clarify the issues contributing to their insufficient working medical knowledge are offered. Specific remediation strategies are described in detail and illustrated with case examples. In addition, a list of study tips and test-taking strategies has been included to assist in remediation of these medical learners.