Are medical schools hesitant to teach undergraduate students teaching skills? A medical student's critical view

Students today…educators tomorrow

BACKGROUND

The article describes the use of the mini clinical examination (mini-CEX) in a pilot study to introduce peer assessment in one allied health programme to explore students' capacity as clinical educators. Preparing today's pre-professional health students to be clinical educators by engaging them in peer teaching, learning and assessment may encourage them to become tomorrow's clinical educators.

CONTEXT

Peer assessment is common among many undergraduate medical and allied health programmes, and is typically used as a means of providing students with feedback on their clinical skill development. We argue that peer assessment ought to be focused not only on the development of learners' clinical skills and knowledge, but also on preparing learners for their responsibilities as clinical educators.

INNOVATION

Final-year Australian osteopathy students in our on-campus university clinic undertook, without training, peer assessment and provision of feedback related to clinical performance using a discipline-specific adaptation of the mini-CEX. The current study suggests that students are able to judge another's consultation skills and case management in that they identify what we know are common learning issues for students at this level. Peer assessment ought to be focused on preparing learners for their responsibilities as clinical educators IMPLICATION: Students may be willing to engage in peer assessment if they see the exercise as a way to improve patient care and to develop their skills as educators - potentially encouraging them to become clinical educators in the future.

Clinicians should be aware of their responsibilities as role models: a case report on the impact of poor role modeling

BACKGROUND

Role modeling is an important and valuable educational method. It is predominant throughout (under-)graduate medical education, and attributes of exemplary medical role models are manifold.

AIM

This article describes the impact of poor role modeling on medical students' professional and personal development on the basis of a singular incident at an associated teaching hospital. In addition, scientific literature studying the effect of and the reasons behind poor role modeling in undergraduate and graduate medical education is analyzed and discussed.

RESULTS

To maximize the educational potential of clinical role modeling, medical schools have to consider strategies both on the individual as well as on the institutional level. Several suggestions are offered on both levels.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

Based on a case report of significantly poor role modeling, this article outlines strategies through which academic medical institutions may maximize the educational potential of role modeling and lastingly enhance teaching proficiency of clinical faculty.