Outcome-based education

The move to outcome-based education has been one of the most important trends in health-profession education in recent years. This paper defines outcomes and outcome based education, describes the development of outcome-based education, identifies several different ways that outcomes have been presented, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the outcome-based educational approach. The implementation of outcome-based education at the University of Dundee medical school, Scotland, UK is described as a case study for curriculum planners in veterinary medical education. The lessons learned in Dundee from six years' experience with outcome-based education are identified to aid veterinary medical educators wishing to implement the approach.