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Summary: Learning in the clinical setting is the cornerstone of medical school education, but there are strong imperatives to optimise the ways in which students acquire clinical expertise.Deliberate practice is characterised by attention, concentration, effort and repetition of skills; it is an important tool for developing and maintaining professional expertise.Research has led to a greater understanding of how medical students develop core clinical skills, especially in the areas of diagnostic reasoning, communication and physical examination.Advances in information technology and instructional design are helping to strengthen the links between formal educational activities and opportunistic learning in the clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the current Australian practice in clinical education. The tradition of providing high-quality clinical experiences for students of its medical schools are being challenged by problems of increased student numbers, changes in health care practices and service pressures that limit clinicians' time to teach and supervise. It indicates that advances in information technology continues to help promote consistency of curriculum delivery over dispersed learning environments.