Deliberate teaching tools for clinical teaching encounters: A critical scoping review and thematic analysis to establish definitional clarity

Abstract

Purpose and method: We conducted a scoping review of tools designed to add structure to clinical teaching, with a thematic analysis to establish definitional clarity.

Results: Six thousand and forty nine citations were screened, 434 reviewed for eligibility, and 230 identified as meeting study inclusion criteria. Eighty-nine names and 51 definitions were identified. Based on a post facto thematic analysis, we propose that these tools be named “deliberate teaching tools” (DTTs) and defined as “frameworks that enable clinicians to have a purposeful and considered approach to teaching encounters by incorporating elements identified with good teaching practice.” We identified 46 DTTs in the literature, with 38 (82.6%) originally described for the medical setting. Forty justification articles consisted of 16 feedback surveys, 13 controlled trials, seven pre-post intervention studies with no control group, and four observation studies. Current evidence of efficacy is not entirely conclusive, and many studies contain methodology flaws. Forty-nine clarification articles comprised 12 systematic reviews and 37 narrative reviews. The most number of DTTs described by any review was four. A common design theme was identified in approximately three-quarters of DTTs.

Conclusions: Applicability of DTTs to specific alternate settings should be considered in context, and appropriately designed justification studies are warranted to demonstrate efficacy.

Acknowledgments

We thank Maurice Hennessy for planting the seed for this study, by pointing out that these tools, models, and frameworks lacked a consistent nomenclature and definition.

Disclosure statement

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

Glossary

Teaching script: A cognitive structure for organizing the teacher’s clinically relevant information about a condition and relating this information to the facts of a particular case (i.e. the patient), general principles of medicine, and the learner's prior knowledge and ability. Source: Paukert JL. Faculty use of teaching strategies in ambulatory pediatric primary care settings.

Ann Arbor: University of Texas at Austin; 1999.

Deliberate teaching tool: Frameworks that enable clinicians to have a purposeful and considered approach to teaching encounters by incorporating elements identified with good teaching practice. Prominent examples of these include the One-minute Preceptor, SNAPPS, and BID frameworks. Source: (this paper).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Navdeep S. Sidhu

Navdeep Sidhu MBChB, FANZCA, MClinEd, FAcadMEd, is a consultant anesthesiologist and fellowship program director in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, North Shore Hospital, Auckland. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators (UK) and a senior clinical lecturer in the Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Auckland.

Morgan Edwards

Morgan Edwards BSc(Hons), MBBS, PGCertClinEd, is a consultant anesthesiologist with an interest in medical education in the Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, North Shore Hospital, Auckland. She is an executive committee member of the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists.