Perceptions On Reciprocal Peer Teaching Among Medical Students As Learners And As Tutors

Abstract

Objectives

The College of Medicine at Imam University has incorporated reciprocal peer-teaching into the curriculum in the form of peer-led seminars. The aim was to evaluate this program and ascertain student perceptions.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey of medical students attached to the Internal Medicine I and II courses was conducted in 2018. The questionnaire evaluated perceptions about the peer-teaching program, tutors’ knowledge, skills and attitudes, both from a student and a tutor perspective.

Results

Based on a 63% response rate from a total of 410 students, 34.5% of learners agreed that peer-tutoring was the most effective method of clinical teaching and 30.3% disagreed. More students reported that peer-led seminars did not prepare them for their exams (38.4%) compared to those who reported it did (27.9%). More than 40% of participants reported the tutors were approachable, created a welcoming learning environment and provided targeted information. From a tutor perspective, more than 70% of participants reported that they developed personally and professionally, improved their collaborative, communication, tutoring and presentation skills and confidence. Female students reported they benefited more as tutors compared to male students.

Conclusion

Students regard obligatory reciprocal peer-teaching in the form of peer-led seminars as similar to faculty teaching and an overwhelming majority report that they benefit both personally and professionally from leading seminars. As doctors are expected to teach and train younger generations, medical schools should prepare all students for such roles. A system that provides an opportunity for every student to become a peer-teacher can fulfil this need.

Keywords:

• curriculum
• peer group
• students
• medical
• teaching methods
• undergraduate medical education

Ethical Approval

The project was reviewed and approved by the internal review board (IRB) of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the students who participated by filling this research questionnaire.

Author Contributions

Saad Mohammed AlShareed generated the idea, conceived and designed the study. He also analyzed the data and wrote/drafted the manuscript. Abdulrahman Yousef Aldayel, Hamid Mohammed Alghamdi, Mohammed Buraik Alosaimi, Muteb Mousa Alharbi, Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Aldayel and Hamad Abdulaziz Alhussain equally participated in collecting and analyzing the data and contributed to the writing and drafting of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version for publication, and they agree to be accountable for all aspects of this work.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.