The perceptions of attending doctors of the role of residents as teachers of undergraduate clinical students

• Published in: Medical education 2003-03, Vol.37 (3), p.241-247
• Main Authors: Busari, Jamiu O, Scherpbier, Albert J J A, Van Der Vleuten, Cees P M, Essed, Gerard G M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; clinical competence; Clinical Competence - standards; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; data collection; Education; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - organization & administration; Education, Medical, Undergraduate - standards; Educational sciences; faculty; Faculty, Medical - standards; Female; Humans; Internship and Residency; Male; Medical and paramedical education; medical undergraduate/standards; Netherlands; Physician's Role; role; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching methods; teaching/standards
• ISSN: 0308-0110; 1365-2923
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2003.01436.x

Introduction  Much of undergraduate clinical teaching is provided by residents. An earlier study showed the attitude of residents towards teaching to be generally positive. Little is known, however, about attending doctors' views on their own and residents' roles as teachers of medical students. Objectives  To examine attending doctors' perceptions of the (dis)advantages of resident teaching, their own teaching abilities and the need for a teacher training programme for residents. Method  A questionnaire survey of 76 attending doctors was carried out in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Paediatrics at the teaching hospitals of the Universities of Maastricht and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Results  Attending doctors perceive teaching by residents to be beneficial for students and residents alike. Although they consider themselves to be better suited than residents to teach medical students, they see teaching as an integral part of residency training and feel it should be recognised as such by departments and medical schools. Attending doctors are in favour of a teacher training programme for residents, which should include communication, clinical and teaching skills as well as skills such as time management and (self‐) assessment. Discussion  Despite the uneven distribution of participants between the departments, no significant differences were found between departments. It is interesting that attending doctors perceive teacher training as beneficial to residents' teaching skills, but provide more feedback on residents' attitudes than on their teaching. The results show that, in general, attending doctors share residents' views that teaching is an important component of residency and that a teacher training programme for residents is to be recommended.