A Consensus Guideline to Support Resident-as-Teacher Programs and Enhance the Culture of Teaching and Learning

• Published in: Journal of graduate medical education 2019-06, Vol.11 (3), p.313-318
• Main Authors: McKeon, Bri Anne, Ricciotti, Hope A, Sandora, Thomas J, Ramani, Subha, Pels, Richard, Miloslavsky, Eli M, Haviland, Miriam J, Cho, Tracey A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic Medical Centers - organization & administration; Consensus; Curriculum; Education, Medical, Graduate - methods; Educational Innovation; Humans; Internship and Residency; Learning; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teaching - organization & administration
• ISSN: 1949-8349; 1949-8357
• DOI: 10.4300/JGME-D-18-00612.1

Methods for assessing residents as teachers are limited, and it can be difficult to discern optimal curricula for training residents as educators. A guideline may be a tool to assess resident-as-teacher programs and to help enhance a culture of teaching and learning. We developed a consensus guideline to assess academic medical centers' resident-as-teacher programs and teaching environments. Faculty representing 8 specialties from 5 teaching hospitals created a guideline for resident-as-teacher programs through an iterative expert consensus development process. To assess local resident-as-teacher practices, the guideline was administered as an online survey to program directors from 47 residency programs at 5 hospitals. The survey included 26 items addressing curricula, educational climate, financial support, assessment, professional development, and promotion. Forty-nine percent of residency programs surveyed completed the questionnaire, representing 65% of specialties (17 of 26). Respondents reported that residents were required to participate in a teaching orientation in 78% of programs (18 of 23) and were evaluated on teaching in 91% (21 of 23). There were special educational programs and teaching awards in 91% of programs (21 of 23), respectively. All programs included evaluations of faculty teaching, which were linked to faculty annual reviews in 52% of programs (12 of 23), but to faculty promotion or salary in only 22% of programs (5 of 23). We developed a resident-as-teacher consensus guideline that could provide a road map for program directors and institutions to think broadly about how they educate residents and fellows as teachers.