A qualitative evaluation of senior house officers’ teaching and learning: towards sharing good practice

Abstract

The evaluation explored junior doctors’/senior house officers’ (SHOs’) teaching and learning experiences and identified examples of consultants’ good teaching practices. The qualitative study is based on semi-structured interviews conducted towards the end of a six-month rotation. Data analysis revealed that in spite of the heavy workloads of both consultants and SHOs there were many positive examples of consultants’ creative approaches to teaching and learning, as well as provision of personal and professional support and, for some, ongoing feedback from both consultants and the healthcare team. There was room for improvement, particularly concerning learning experiences in some clinical settings, the development of clinical skills and a need for two-way feedback. However, all the participants would recommend their experience to future SHOs and colleagues.