The Human Education of the Physician: Towards a Pedagogy of Decision-Making and the Personalisation of Professional Knowledge

Elsa Maria Bruni

Abstract


This paper offers a pedagogical reflection on the professional and human education of physicians, reinterpreting clinical practice and decision-making through the lens of John Dewey’s thought and the perspective of personalisation. In medical and healthcare education, the growing complexity of knowledge and the pressure exerted by technology risk reducing the educational dimension to a merely technical or training-oriented field. The article argues instead that medical education should be conceived as a process of cultivating practical intelligence, in which experience and reflection form the epistemological fabric of care. Personalisation is understood not as a mere adaptation of the educational pathway, but as a cognitive and ethical principle guiding professional judgement, one that values the uniqueness of contexts and individuals. Drawing on Deweyan principles of experience and continuity, and engaging with the works of Schön, Benner, Nussbaum, and Pellegrino, the paper outlines a pedagogy of decision-making grounded in reflexivity and responsibility, capable of integrating science, ethics, and humanity.


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.32043/gsd.v9i4.1641

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