When did “teaching” become a taboo word for clinician educators?

Abstract

In our recent work with clinician educators leading UME small groups, we noticed a phenomenon – many clinician educators are saying they don’t teach, they just facilitate. Medical schools have moved to a new model of curriculum that integrates basic, clinical, and social science concepts. As curriculum shifts, so too must the definition and role of a teacher in medical education. The purpose of this article is to explore the work of current clinician educators and to encourage clinician educators to embrace their teaching role and seek educator development opportunities. In this article, we explore the history of how and why the word “teaching” became taboo for clinician educators. Then we explain the current state of the complex work of teaching for today’s clinician educators and its implications for educator development.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Brian Mavis, Ph.D. for his feedback on this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stacey Pylman

Stacey Pylman, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Office of Medical Education Research and Development at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, MI.

Amy Ward

Amy Ward, M.Ed., is a Medical Education Learning Specialist in Academic Achievement and the Office of Medical Education Research and Development at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in East Lansing, MI.