Medicine is constantly evolving as new discoveries are made. In this edition of Learning World we look at how medical education is keeping pace with developments and preparing students to treat real life patients.
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The first report focuses on how high-tech computerised mannequins are helping to train medical students and other health professionals in basic surgical practices. The dummies, at a medical training centre in Ottawa, Candad, replicate the responses of the human body and provide an incredibly life-like simulation of real-life surgical procedures. Health authorities believe they will help reduce errors in medical care.
We meet a group of intrepid and eager medics in our second report from Nicaragua. Dentists Without Limits is an NGO that takes final year dental student to remote communities where they they treat patients free of charge. Local people benefit from much needed dental treatment that would otherwise be unaffordable. The students, supervised by senior colleagues, get to hone their skills before becoming real practitioners.
Our final story is a portrait of a hugely respected and pioneering Egyptian heart transplant surgeon. Dr Magdi Yacoub talks to us about the medical teaching he offers at his specialist training centre in Egypt, current developments in medical education and his own philosophy on health care.