Twelve tips for expanding undergraduate clinical teaching capacity

Abstract

Undergraduate medical education has expanded substantially in recent years, through both establishing new programs and increasing student numbers in existing programs. This expansion has placed pressure on the capacity for training students in clinical placements, raising concerns about the risk of dilution of experience, and reducing work readiness. The concerns have been greatest in more traditional environments, where clinical placements in large academic medical centers are often the “gold standard”. However, there are ways of exposing medical students to patient interactions and clinical supervisors in many other contexts. In this paper, we share our experiences and observations of expanding clinical placements for both existing and new medical programs in several international locations. While this is not necessarily an easy task, a wide range of opportunities can be accessed by asking the right questions of the right people, often with only relatively modest changes in resource allocation.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Notes on contributors

Richard B. Hays, MD, PhD, FRACGP, FRCGP, is Professor of Remote and Rural Health, James Cook University Australia.

Robert K. McKinley, MBChB, PhD, FRCGP, is Professor of Education in General Practice, Keele University, UK.

Tarun K. Sen Gupta, MBBS, PhD, FRACGP, is Professor of medical Education, James Cook University, Australia.