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Il y a peu de sources couvrant les 30 premières années de Thomas Jefferson. Son Literary Commonplace Book (LCB), compilé presqu’entièrement de son adolescence jusqu’à l’aube de sa carrière politique (1758-1773), détient ainsi une valeur heuristique incontournable. Le but de cet article est d’y cerner une vision de l’existence qui pourrait expliquer les fondements de son libéralisme. Car le LCB détient une valeur et un sens aux yeux de Jefferson qui se perçoivent tôt comme tard dans sa vie. Les thèmes de la fatalité et de la finitude, mais de même, de la vertu dont est capable l’homme, y sont centraux. Nous croyons que les extraits choisis par Jefferson, lorsque mis en parallèle avec ses textes de l’époque comme avec ses écrits postérieurs, permettent d’appréhender dans sa pensée une conception d’un individu qui, bien qu’acculé à une fatalité par rapport à laquelle il demeure impuissant, conserve toutefois une potentialité pour une autonomie et une vertu. Nous reconnaîtrons subséquemment cet optimisme dans ses écrits libéraux. Few sources cover the first 30 years of Thomas Jefferson. His Literary Commonplace Book (LCB), compiled almost entirely from his adolescence to the dawn of his political career (1758-1773), possesses thus an invaluable heuristic value. The goal of this article is to grasp a vision of existence which could explain the foundations of his liberalism. We believe this possible because the LCB possesses a value and a meaning to the eyes of Jefferson which can be perceived early as much as late in his life. The themes of fatality and of finitude, but also, of the virtue of which man is capable, are all central. We believe that the extracts chosen by Jefferson, when put in parallel with his texts written in this period as with those written posteriorly, permit to apprehend in his thought a conception of an individual which, even if placed at the mercy of a fatality relative to which he remains powerless, keeps a potentiality for autonomy and virtue. We will subsequently recognize this optimism in his liberal writings.

Background: Peer-assisted learning (PAL) refers to a learning activity whereby students of similar academic level teach and learn from one another. Groupe de perfectionnement des habiletes cliniques (Clinical Skills Improvement Group), a student organization at Universite Laval, Canada, propelled PAL into the digital era by creating a collaborative virtual patient platform. Medical interviews can be completed in pairs (a student-patient and a student-doctor) through an interactive Web-based application, which generates a score (weighted for key questions) and automated feedback. Objectives: The aim of the study was to measure the pedagogical impact of the application on the score at medical interview stations at the summative preclerkship Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Methods: We measured the use of the application (cases completed, mean score) in the 2 months preceding the OSCE. We also accessed the results of medical interview stations at the preclerkship summative OSCE. We analyzed whether using the application was associated with higher scores and/or better passing grades (≥60%) at the OSCE. Finally, we produced an online form where students could comment on their appreciation of the application. Results: Of the 206 students completing the preclerkship summative OSCE, 170 (82.5%) were registered users on the application, completing a total of 3133 cases (18 by active user in average, 7 minutes by case in average). The appreciation questionnaire was answered online by 45 students who mentioned appreciating the intuitive, easy-to-use, and interactive design, the diversity of cases, and the automated feedback. Using the application was associated with reduced reported stress, improved scores (P=.04), and improved passing rates (P=.11) at the preclerkship summative OSCE. Conclusions: This study suggests that PAL can go far beyond small-group teaching, showing students’ potential to create helpful pedagogical tools for their peers.