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Biography
Dr James McMillan is a general practitioner (GP) and medical educator. He graduated from Edinburgh University in 1999 (MBChB). He completed his general practice specialist training in Tayside and worked as a principal GP in Perth, Scotland, for about 5 years. Following this he spent two and a half years as a physician in rural Alberta, Canada. He continues to work as a sessional GP and has been an educator at the University of Dundee since 2015. He holds a masters degree in medical education (MMEd) from the University of Dundee and is a fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Dr McMillan's research interests and scholarship work are driven by a belief that there are significant relationships between learning theories and models of health and that the ability of physicians to understand how we learn is increasingly necessary for a safe, effective and resilient workforce and essential for a health service that reflects the needs of modern society. He is specifically interested in the concept of generalism in healthcare, how generalism relates to these matters and the role general practice can play in developing generalist skills in all medical graduates regardless of career intentions.
He is currently involved in research developing programme theory regarding the teaching of generalism in undergraduate medical education.
Research
McMillan, J.C.D. and Jones, L. (2022) ‘A qualitative study exploring how students’ conceptualisations of lifelong learning develop in an undergraduate medical training programme’, PRACTICE, 0(0), pp. 1–14. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/25783858.2022.2133624.
McMillan, J.C.D. (2022) ‘Is it time to reconsider our understanding of lifelong learning in medical training’, Journal of Social Science Student Research [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.20933/30000100.
Scholarship activities
McMillan J. (2024). Why We Should Be Repositioning "Lifelong Learning" As An Essential Skill For The Future Medical Workforce. ASME Annual Scholarship Meeting. University of Warwick.
McMillan J.C.D. (2022). Rethinking Lifelong Learning in Medical Education. In L. Jones (chair), Future proofing professional education and CPD. Enhancing research and scholarship for emotional intelligence, resilience and lifelong learning capacities. Division of Education and Society Conference, University of Dundee.
McMillan J.C.D. (2019). A scientific realist informed inquiry into graduating medical students’ conceptualisations of ‘lifelong learning’ and the related influences of medical training. School of Education & Social Work’s Annual Research & Scholarship Conference, University of Dundee.
McMillan J.C.D., Jones L. (2019). To self-direct or not to self-direct, that is the question: Shining a light on curriculum dilemmas. AMEE Conference, Vienna, Austria.
Teaching
- Deputy Head of undergraduate general practice in the MBChB programme
- Senior lecturer in medical education within the MBChB and intercalated BMSc programmes