Constructing a Congruent Curriculum for the Vocational Training of GPs

Summary

It may well be maintained that the raison d’ítre of vocational training (of, in this case, GPs) is not so much the transmission of textbook-knowledge, but the development of the potential to act rationally in ‘uncharted territory’. Post hoc reflection on what has taken place in the doctor-patient relationship is a suitable mean to achieve this goal. Reflection tends to be more fruitful if the peculiarities of the doctor-patient relationship can be clarified by means of what goes on in educational relationships — and vice versa. A method like ‘experience-sharing’ offers good opportunities to establish such a cross-fertilization between professional practice and the peer learning group. In order to prevent this mutual reflection from getting bogged down in dogma and cliche, experience-sharing should be embedded in a ‘congruent’ curriculum — a curriculum, that is, that can be regarded as a living metaphor for professional practice.