Can we improve the delivery of bedside teaching?

Abstract

The new method, using protected clinical teaching time at a specific scheduled weekly time, and using opportunistically available junior clinicians, is perceived by students as superior to the old method of one constant, experienced tutor allocated to a group. The main obstacles [to bedside teaching] are: the availability of clinical tutors and access to suitable patients.

Medical students' perceptions of bedside teaching

“…Interestingly, the minority of students (8.9%) who said that they trust junior doctors more stated that this is because juniors are often ‘more up to date’ with knowledge and more aware of assessment requirements. This is in keeping with existing literature …”

“…Students reported a desire to impress consultants, but found that inconsistency in the teaching delivered by consultants made it more challenging than that delivered by juniors, who students perceived as being more standardised in their teaching approach. Some students perceived that juniors are more familiar with the current curriculum and assessment requirements, whereas consultants may wish to discuss topics that are not part of the student curriculum, a finding that is in agreement with existing literature . Students who reported no difference in how challenged they felt stated that this depends more on the interpersonal attributes of the teacher, and how well they engage with students and the teaching process.…”

“…In addition, students perceive junior doctors to not only have adequate knowledge to teach medical students, but also that they have a better knowledge of the current curriculum and assessment requirements …”

“…2,5 In addition, students perceive junior doctors to not only have adequate knowledge to teach medical students, but also that they have a better knowledge of the current curriculum and assessment requirements. 6 Existing literature suggests that students consider clinical seniority to be a desirable characteristic of the ideal bedside teacher, 7 although students also identify good communication skills, the ability to deliver constructive feedback and an approachable demeanour to be important determinants. 7,8 Although students fi nd an adequate presence of senior/ consultant clinicians to be benefi cial, 9 they also value the availability of junior doctors for teaching.…”

Balancing care and teaching during clinical activities: 2 contexts, 2 strategies

“…This literature has highlighted important aspects of clinical supervisors' role in bedside teaching: a consistent decline in the occurrence of bedside teaching [12][13][14], perceived challenges and barriers to bedside teaching [8,10,15,16], perceived and measured benefits of bedside teaching [8,11], the increasing role of patients and peers in bedside teaching [8,17], and specific strategies to improve bedside teaching [9,11,18,19]. However, these studies have focused narrowly on 1 aspect of the educational role of the clinical supervisors and do not reflect other important supervisors' responsibilities in the clinical environment, such as being a role model, providing access to authentic clinical activities, and offering clinical guidance.…”