Training tomorrow's doctors

The ability of our NHS to deliver world-class compassionate care is dependent on the quality of training and education of our staff. We know that the path of moving from novice to expert is far from linear. Instead, it is a complex journey that is domain specific with multiple variations reflecting the individuality of our learners. Within this complex journey, there is a need to train the doctors of tomorrow to be humanistic, competent, patient-centred, resilient beings who will thrive in a challenging environment, striving to advance medicine. We discuss two models of curricula, the longitudinal integrated programmes and the internal medicine curriculum, which are proposed to address the healthcare needs of the UK population. In this article, we look at the opportunities that exist, the future potentials for medical education, and the challenges to overcome as we endeavour to create the best education models for physicians in the 21st century.