Medical students' orientation toward lifelong learning in an outcome-based curriculum and the lessons learnt

BACKGROUND: Lifelong learning (LL) is an important outcome of medical training. The objective of this study is to measure the orientation of medical students toward LL and to determine the types of self-directed learning (SDL) activities that contribute toward LL skills.

METHODS: The Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning for medical student (JeffSPLL-MS) questionnaire was used. Factor analysis was performed, Cronbach's alpha and effect size were calculated. The types of learning activities that contribute to LL skills were identified.

RESULTS: Three-factor structure emerged from the factor analysis and were identified as learning beliefs and motivation, skills in seeking information and attention to learning opportunities. A significant increase (p