Dear Sir
Recently, Qureshi et al. (Citation2013) described the effects of junior doctors’ participation in near peer clinical teaching programmes. Two aspects of this study caught my special interest.
The authors reported that almost all participating junior doctors (96%) enjoyed their teaching engagements. This number illustrates the amount of satisfaction potentially associated with educating future generations of physicians, especially when both parties engaged in this process (students and clinical teachers) are provided with appropriate resources for successful teaching and learning. Being a passionate student peer teacher myself, intrinsic motivation to continuously improve your craft while enjoying the privilege to be involved in fellow students’ education are obligatory traits for exemplary teachers. Educational theories and proper teaching techniques can be learned, but the “inner drive” to become a qualified educator may be a prerequisite.
More than three thirds (76%) of the surveyed doctors had not received any teaching skills training before, although 71% would have preferred formal training as students. These numbers highlight a paradigm in medical education. After having graduated from medical school, junior doctors are not only asked to assume clinical duties but also to take over teaching responsibilities. However, while all aspects of medical care, professional behaviour and even basics of research and scientific work are part of undergraduate education, “teach future teachers” programmes are non-existent or only a footnote in many medical curricula. This raises a burning question: Is it justifiable both from a professional and ethical standpoint to engage junior doctors in undergraduate education while being aware that they may not be sufficiently prepared?
Some people would probably argue that “you learn your job by doing it”. This popular saying holds true to some extent, but, nonetheless, is associated with significant limitations especially in medicine, where the well-being of patients is on the line. Therefore, academic institutions would be well advised to act proactively and start programmes aiming at preparing undergraduate students and junior doctors for their (future) obligations as teachers. Such programmes can be implemented successfully on both levels (Haber et al. Citation2006; Qureshi et al. Citation2013) and would help to ensure excellence among the next generations of medical educators.
Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this article.
References
- Haber RJ, Bardach NS, Vedanthan R, Gillum LA, Haber LA, Dhaliwal GS. Preparing fourth-year medical students to teach during internship. J Gen Intern Med 2006; 21(5)518–520
- Qureshi ZU, Gibson KR, Ross M, Maxwell S. Perceived tutor benefits of teaching near peers: Insights from two near peer teaching programmes in South East Scotland. Med Teach 2013; 35(3)261–262