Challenging learning situations in medical education: innovative and structured tools for assessment, educational diagnosis, and intervention. Part 1: history or data gathering.

M edical school and residency training are demanding programs. Most learners will complete their training without considerable difficulties. However, up to 1 in 10 learners will experience a problem during their program. During the past 15 years, there has been increased attention devoted to the " resident in diffi culty, " with publications on a variety of topics, including classifi cation systems of learners' difficulties , assessment frameworks, and intervention plans. We recently published a book with the goal of summarizing the current literature regarding learners facing challenges. The results of the literature review were presented in 3 separate chapters: chapter 1 reviewed the symptoms and signs that indicated potential problems ; chapter 2 summarized the literature on educational diagnosis and aimed to help teachers expand their " differential " in various challenging learning situations; and chapter 3 reviewed the management of challenging learning situations. 1 This article presents the content of chapter 4, which combines the fi ndings of the fi rst 3 chapters in an effort to develop innovative and structured educational tools and models to aid supervisors and clinical teachers in the diagnosis and management of learners facing challenges. Part 1 details the data-gathering phase. Part 2 will discuss objective examination of learners in difficulty , educational diagnosis, and management of challenging learning situations.