There can be very few practitioners whose daily working life is not involved someway in teaching or learning. Used in its broadest sense, we engage teaching everyday in our advice to patients, and conversely we learn from each of our patients. As we move inexorably towards compulsory reaccredidation for all practitioners, purposeful and effective continuing professional development takes over from the previously passive continuing medical education model. As Universities and Medical Schools recognise where most healthcare occurs and see the benefits of community-based education, increasing numbers of undergraduate and postgraduate students pass daily through our surgery doors. No doubt, the majority of busy practitioners see these activities as an increased workload rather than an opportunity, a stress factor rather than a possibility to develop in their personal lives.

In this article, we wish to suggest how some of our daily practice activities can be seen as opportunities to teach and learn; how by using the principles of being an effective teacher, we can create learning situations for all.

“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning how to learn”. Loris Malaguzzi¹