John Zona, MD, MEd
Flower Family Practice Residency
Self directed learning skills are essential in the professional lives of physicians in the United States today. There has been little assessment ofreadiness for self-directed learning in graduate medical education. This study measured readiness for self-directed learning ofresident physicians in Family medicine using the Self-directed Leaming Readiness Scale (SDLRS). A simple ex post facto study design on Family medicine resident physicians in two residency programs using this validated instrument showed that their readiness for self-directed learning was significantly higher than the average adult learner population. Investigation of two subgroups of these residents, United States medical school graduates versus international medical school graduates, showed that the readiness for self-directed learning did not differ significantly between the two groups.
Potential underlying factors for these findings are explored. This study serves to raise awareness of learner readiness to engage in self-directed learning during graduate medical education.
