Most medical education programs measure success by attendance and evaluations. Richard Rick Davis measures success by whether physicians change how they practice.
As president and CEO of Arbor Science Group, he’s spent two decades improving how medicine gets taught after watching countless programs fail because the content never connected to actual clinical decisions.
The problem with most medical education isn’t a lack of information but a lack of transformation. Programs begin by asking what to teach instead of what learners need to do differently.
Davis has learned that transforming clinical outcomes requires designing programs around behavior change, using engagement science, and training faculty to deliver content effectively.
Start With Outcomes, Not Content
“Adult learners, especially clinicians, are busy, skeptical, and practical,” Davis explains. “They’re not just looking for more information. They’re looking for relevant information that has a practical and useful application.”
Clinicians don’t need another lecture on guidelines they already know exist. They need frameworks for applying those guidelines to patients who don’t fit textbook presentations.
Davis uses a simple framework for this. Build understanding, which increases confidence, which enhances action. Programs designed with that progression create transformation instead of just information delivery.
Use the Science of Engagement
Neuroscience confirms that attention spans are short, and passive learning simply doesn’t work. Engagement, however, doesn’t mean flashy slides.
“Engagement means a well-conceived story that is relevant and practical and allows application through interactivity,” Davis notes. “Interactive cases, real patient journeys, peer-to-peer learning, these are the tools that capture attention and make learning memorable.”
In one program for psychiatrists, adding a patient video vignette increased retention of key treatment steps by over 40%. Psychiatrists retained treatment protocols significantly better than those who received the same information through slides.
The video created clinical relevance that slides couldn’t replicate. Psychiatrists remembered the patient’s story, which anchored treatment steps in memory. This is how the application of adult learning actually works. Passive listening creates weak memory traces, while active engagement creates strong ones.
Train the Trainers
The best-designed content won’t land if faculty can’t deliver it effectively. Davis has watched brilliant clinicians with deep expertise fail to connect with learners because they lacked the communication skills to make content compelling.
“That’s why we place significant focus on the application of communication science and adult learning principles that raise the communication effectiveness of your faculty,” he explains.
One neurology program saw measurable improvement in post-program performance scores simply by upgrading faculty presentation skills without changing content. The transformation involved teaching faculty how to structure presentations around narrative instead of topic lists, how to visualize data so patterns become obvious, and how to deliver with confidence that engages.
When the messenger is confident in their knowledge and delivery plan, the message connects. Clinical expertise doesn’t automatically translate to teaching effectiveness. The physicians who transform how other physicians practice combine knowledge with effective communication.
Don’t Just Educate, Elevate
After two decades of designing adult learning programs across five continents, Davis’s framework is clear. Start with behavior change instead of content coverage. Use engagement science that makes learning memorable. Train faculty to deliver content with communication excellence.
“In medical education, we’re not just transferring knowledge, we’re shaping decisions, outcomes, and lives,” Davis concludes.
Programs that embrace this approach change how clinicians practice, which changes patient outcomes. That’s the difference between education and transformation.
Connect with Richard Rick Davis on LinkedIn for insights on adult learning and medical education.
