What does it mean to be a General Practitioner?

Studying professional learning offers a particular contribution to learning research in general because professionals embody societal circumstances for learning in everyday life and work. This article refers to the medical profession. A general heuristic model is presented for organizing empirical studies in the experiences of everyday professional life, in which they are related to three dimensions: occupational framework, knowledge domain, and life history of the professional. Two examples of interpretation from general medical practice are presented, and the theoretical framework of interpretation is elaborated. The article finally, on the one hand, draws perspectives for practice of professional continuing education, and on the other hand for the contribution of learning research in a rethinking of the relation between knowledge domains and occupational practices in the constitution and dynamics of professions.