Change: imposed and desired in health-professional education. 30th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education, Sydney, 5-8 July 2002.

THE AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION (ANZAME) was established in 1972 as a medical education society, but has gradually evolved into an association for health-professional education. In July 2002, ANZAME held its 30th Annual Scientific Meeting in Sydney in a collaborative arrangement with the Australian Postgraduate Federation in Medicine (APFM). There were about 150 registrants, the majority from the medical and nursing professions. There were many health-professional educators, as well as delegates from SouthEast Asia and the United Kingdom. The formal conference was preceded by workshops on qualitative research, university departments of rural health and the challenges of continuing medical education (CME). Ronald Harden opened the pre-conference workshop session with a stimulating exposition entitled " Challenges for continuing medical education in the new millennium ". He highlighted the pressures on the health practitioner that accompany a busy clinical life and the need to keep up to date — a " pressure cooker " existence that persists for at least 30 years after graduation. These pressures give rise to the desperate feeling that " I have so much to learn that I have no time to learn ". Harden elegantly expanded on " CRISIS " in CME, which ought to be Convenient, Relevant , Interactive, based on Self-assessment, Individualised and Systematic (outcome-based). The aim of CME, as for all medical education, should be " doing the right things, doing the things right, by the right person ". The following day, Harden opened the conference with the Australian Postgraduate Federation in Medicine's Cop-pleson Oration. The theme was " The changing scene in health professional education: the past, present and future ". He stressed the need for curriculum planning to be outcome oriented to produce the best graduates. Medical schools must keep up with the latest information technologies , and " virtual medical schools " (run via computer networks) are in the (cable) pipeline. These schools will employ reusable modules (like " Lego blocks ") that can be applied anywhere in place and time, with study guides and task lists to enable learners to plot their way through the course. Assessment in medical schools should be evidence-based, and both " formative " and " summative " : ■ The aim of formative assessment is to encourage learning and understanding among students. The learning environment should be relevant and non-threatening, and should foster the application of knowledge, skills and attitudes. ■ …