Aspects of the content versus process debate in medical education

Traditional western medical education is often concerned with the absorption of an enormous number of facts, leaving the process of problem-solving to happen naturally. The current trend is to increase the process in medical education, sometimes at the expense of content knowledge. This paper analyses some of the literature pertinent to this dilemma. It concludes that a pluralistic approach to the presentation of the scientific process would enhance the student's motivation to obtain the content knowledge necessary to utilize that scientific process. It also suggests that such an approach to education might benefit all professions which rely on problem-solving as part of their activity.