Table 1 Overview of LPPD (themes and content). Learning skills and general professional skills are regularly and repetitively addressed with emphasis on learning as an active, contextualized, practice-based, lifelong process of constructing knowledge and skills from the psychosocial environment and personal experiences. Menu and toolbox: Because one size does not fit all, we provide the students and teachers with a menu of a variety of learning activities that can be applied to various topics within the LPPD. A toolbox is included with which to select the most suitable forms of student engagement

LPPD cornerstones:

• A compulsory program for every student, intertwined throughout all courses in the curriculum, guided by a coach and aimed at personal and professional identity formation and performance, with room for diversity, that connects to society and healthcare

• Alternating prepared group sessions (2-hours) and individual meetings (30 minutes each) with a coach, spread throughout the academic year and including a final assignment.

• Incorporates the educational theories of self-determination and constructivism, experiential and transformative learning, and learning as an active, contextualized, practice-based, lifelong process of constructing knowledge and skills based on psychosocial environment and personal experiences.

Themes and content of the LPPD program

• Landing at the university (semester 1): Discovering oneself, including the professional that one could and would like to become and the requirements for achieving that goal, constituting the beginning of professional development and lifelong learning, including learning strategies, critical thinking, and creativity)

• Collaboration (semester 2): As a (bio)medical student, one cannot study without patients, fellow students and teachers. It is (semester 2): As a (bio)medical student, one cannot study without patients, fellow students and teachers. It is important for one to rely on, or work toward, good cooperation. Team building and team work, feedback, and Belbin roles are all explored.

• Personal leadership (semester 3): Leadership necessitates discovering and developing oneself. Self-evaluation requires taking control of one’s own development and functioning. Self-direction involves looking in the mirror, thinking about best practices (reflecting) and making learning goals concrete. Reflection skills, self-awareness, and identity formation are key.

• Self-exploration (semester4): Lifelong learning, wellness, vitality, and vocational orientation contribute to the development of self-knowledge. A personal needs assessment is applied to assist you in knowing who you are, what your qualities are and what pitfalls you need to learn to avoid.

• Connection with the society (semester 5): Students come to understand the societal perspective and impact. To broaden and deepen the future roles of students in health-advocacy, with attention to diversity and inclusion, crossing boundaries and ethical considerations, social interaction and engagement, integrity, professional standards and values are explored and identified.

• Back to the future (semester 6): To develop an overall career perspective, students deal with the choices to be made, prepare for internships, and reflect and plan with motivation, pride and trust.

Skills training (repetitive learning in an increasingly complex context)

• Academic skills, including critical thinking, gaining insight, developing understanding, and writing and presenting in an academic context

• Reflection skills

• Feedback: ask, give and receive

• Feed up and feed forward

• Stress reduction, vitality and resilience techniques

• Group dynamics and roles, how to select group members to work with

• Time and project management, planning organization, allocation of roles and tasks

• Communication and cooperation skills in (hierarchic) relationships

• The exploration of personal talents and pitfalls, and how to use this knowledge

• Self-directed and peer-assisted lifelong learning

• Feasible goalsetting

• Mindset and mind mapping

• Creating and maintaining a safe learning environment

• Maintaining one’s own well-being, flexibility and resilience, as well as the development of empowerment

• Developing an awareness of diversity and inclusivity

Toolbox of learning activities in connection with learning concepts (LC), facilitated by the coaches

• Theory: literature, e-learnings, illustrating interviews, illustrating movies (LC: self-directed learning, just-in-time learning)

• Reflection and discussion: both individually with a coach or in small group settings and through group debates on actualities, patient stories, film fragments, simulation games, reflection reports (LC: peer-assisted learning, practice-based learning, learning by doing, transformative learning)

• Skills training: practical assignments (in relation to other learning activities in the curriculum), workshops, self-evaluations, individual gaming, live gaming with a group, group debate, and student story-telling (LC: peer assisted learning, practice based learning)

• Coach-consultation sessions centered on humble inquiry (LC: experiential and transformative learning)

• Working groups with student input (LC: just in time learning, based on actual experiences, peer assisted learning)

• Questionnaires, self-evaluation tests and assessments (LC: transformative learning)

• Actualities: societal engagement (LC: constructivism, practice-based learning, boundary crossing)

Student toolkit

• Structured reflection guideline (pocket size) and self-evaluation template

• Strength tests

• Feedback and feed forward tools

• E-portfolio with personal stories, experiences and insights

• Time management; project management tools

• Safety in a learning environment