3 This chapter focuses on the process of learning in health professions edu- cation (HPE) in terms of key issues that shape HPE learning and essential strategies for promoting and facilitating learning among professionals. Adult Learning in Health Professions Education Laura L. Bierema Health professionals spend years training and developing mastery in their felds. Yet, deep disciplinary knowledge is not enough to keep pace with con- stantly changing contexts, exponentially increasing knowledge, growing mar- ket competition, advancing technology, and intensifying political volatility. If health professionals are to maintain cutting-edge skills, they need to be en- gaged in continuous, lifelong learning. Health professional education is massive: it is estimated that 2,420 medi- cal schools, 467 schools or departments of public health, and an indeterminate number of postsecondary nursing educational institutions worldwide train ap- proximately 1 million new doctors, nurses, and public health professionals annually, with the total global expenditure for health professional education (HPE) at approximately U.S. $100 billion (Frenk et al., 2010). One way health professionals attempt to cope with continuous change is through education—in both prelicensure programs that prepare for specifc disciplines such as medicine, nursing, dentistry, or physical therapy, and in graduate education programs to become health profession educators. Ensuring ongoing, optimal learning in the health professions is challenging given the chaotic and ambiguous nature of health care. Nicolaides (2015), describes the context where professionals carry out their work as a state of “liquid modernity,” or a highly fuid, chaotic condi- tion where interconnected and interdependent professionals toil to handle re- lentless change and ambiguity. Effective HPE helps professionals cope with changing regulations, remain relevant, and comply with federal and state re- quirements for licensure, certifcation, or practice (Jeris & Conway, 2003). Yet, merely keeping up to date and meeting minimum practice standards are not enough for professionals to provide leadership and learning within their organizations and professions. NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION, no. 157, Spring 2018  2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ace.20266 27