New York: Oxford Univ Pr; 1997. $69.50. ISBN

0192626531. Order phone 800-451-7556.

Field of medicine: Medical education.

Format: Softcover book.

Audience: Physicians who teach medical students in community settings.

Purpose: To give practicing physicians, who are usually not trained as educators, a blueprint from which to build learning experiences. The book was prompted by the increasingly common practice of sending medical students out of university hospitals and into the community for important parts of their education. It may be useful to show skeptical medical school faculty that community learning experiences are possible and worthwhile.

Content: The book begins with a historical review of and rationale for teaching in community settings, covers the requisite concepts of setting goals and objectives, presents the strengths and weaknesses of various teaching techniques, and discusses evaluation and testing. A series of short chapters outlines numerous objectives best accomplished in the community and reviews 11 examples of innovative community curricula.

Highlights: The format-short chapters directed at specific topics or objectives-makes the book easy for a busy community tutor to use. The background on teaching in community settings; the bulleted sets of specific objectives; the chapters devoted to teaching about family, population assessment, ethics, death and dying, and health promotion; and the descriptions of courses taught in the United Kingdom are excellent.

Limitations: Educational theory and testing strategies are dry subjects that may be lost on many community physicians. However, a grasp of these principles is important if tutors are to appreciate the educational aspects of their teaching as fully as they understand the medical nuances that they endeavor to teach.

Context: The authors are British educators who have developed courses taught in general practices in Great Britain, but transposition to the U.S. health care system requires only a little imagination. The principles of patient care remain the same. Changes in the U.S. system prompted by managed care may make this book useful to forward-looking U.S. educators.

Reviewer: Robert E. Gwyther, MD, MBA, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Commentary: This book is worthwhile reading for physicians and educators developing medical student experiences in community settings. It offers guidance to tutors who have too often been flying by the seat of their pants.