Irvine, Calif., June 13, 2003 - One way of improving the education of a medical student is to make hospital residents better teachers.

This is the conclusion of a new study led by researchers at UC Irvine. Published in the July issue of Academic Medicine, the study finds that resident physicians who receive formal training for instructing medical students improve as teachers and mentors. Traditionally, medical students and interns receive significant mentoring and supervision from a hospital's resident physicians, who are themselves still undergoing medical training.

For the study, the researchers recruited 23 second-year residents from UCI Medical Center. Of these residents, 13 were randomly assigned to complete a "residents-as-teachers" program. Over six months, these residents completed 13 hours of special practice and training designed to improve their teaching and communication skills with students.

Before and after the training, the residents were given a teaching examination to evaluate their performance. Fifteen senior medical students simulated eight different teaching scenarios, such as seeking supervision from a resident after seeing a patient or seeking advice on an overnight admission. When rated on teaching effectiveness, residents who received the training scored 22.3 percent higher than residents who did not receive the training.

"This study objectively evaluated the impact of teaching instruction on improving residents' performance as mentors and instructors," said Dr. Elizabeth H. Morrison, associate professor and director of predoctoral education in UCI's Department of Family Medicine. "The impact was large and statistically significant. Now we need to clarify which aspects of teacher training most effectively improve educational outcomes.

"Improving the teaching skills of residents is critical," Morrison added, "Residents teach their trainees how to diagnose and treat patients. They model communication skills and many other professional attributes, so they have a huge impact on America's future doctors."

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Contact:
Jim Cohen
(949) 824-7913
jecohen@uci.edu