The Development of Newly Recruited Clinical Teachers at a Unique Regional Medical School Campus
Developing Clinical Teachers at regional medical school campuses
Michelle A Nuss, MD
Augusta/UGA Medical Partnership
Ronald Cervero, PhD
College of Education, University of Georgia
Janette Hill, PhD
College of Education, University of Georgia
Julie Gaines, MLIS
AU/UGA Medical Partnership
Bruce Middendorf, MD
St Mary’s Hospital
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jrmc.v1i4.1041
Keywords: clinical teaching, community physicians, forms of knowledge, qualitative research
Abstract
Background
Physicians who become clinical educators need to transform their clinical knowledge to be effective teachers. The objective of this year-long qualitative study was to understand new physician preceptors’ development as clinical teachers. We explored preceptors’ and students’ insights with regard to meaningful teaching and learning interactions to provide evidence for the developmental journey.
Methods
Semi-structured interviews with the 9 new community hospital physicians and 37 medical students occurred at the beginning, weekly and at the end of the year. Weekly rounding observations were also completed. Interview recordings and observation notes were transcribed confidentially and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.
Results
Irby’s forms of knowledge were selected as the underlying structure for presenting the results. For preceptors, the strongest areas were knowledge of medicine, patients and context. For students, knowledge of medicine was strongest. Knowledge of pedagogy and learners was an area of weakness for preceptors and more work is needed to continue their developmental growth.
Conclusion
This study provides evidence that new teacher-physicians experience learning processes similar to that of 3rd year students learning the clinical practice of medicine: it develops and deepens over time. New community physician preceptors require a robust, ongoing faculty development plan to enable more effective interactions for teaching and learning.