Posts Tagged ‘resident’
The resident-as-teacher educational challenge: a needs assessment survey at the National Autonomous University of Mexico Faculty of Medicine
Background:
The role of residents as educators is increasingly recognized, since it impacts residents, interns, medical students and other healthcare professionals. A widespread implementation of resident-as-teacher courses in developed countries’ medical schools has occurred, with variable results. There is a dearth of information about this theme in developing countries. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Faculty of Medicine has more than 50% of the residency programs’ physician population in Mexico. This report describes a needs assessment survey for a resident as teacher program at our institution.
Methods:
A cross-sectional descriptive survey was developed based on a review of the available literature and discussion by an expert multidisciplinary committee. The goal was to identify the residents’ attitudes, academic needs and preferred educational strategies regarding resident-as-teacher activities throughout the residency. The survey was piloted and modified accordingly. The paper anonymous survey was sent to 7,685 residents, the total population of medical residents in UNAM programs in the country.
Results:
There was a 65.7 % return rate (5,186 questionnaires), a broad and representative sample of the student population. The residents felt they had knowledge and were competent in medical education, but the majority felt a need to improve their knowledge and skills in this discipline. The majority (92.5 %) felt that their role as educators of medical students, interns and other residents was important/very important. They estimated that 45.5 % of their learning came from other residents. Ninety percent stated that it was necessary to be trained in teaching skills. The themes identified to include in the educational intervention were mostly clinically oriented. The educational strategies in order of preference were interactive lectures with a professor, small groups with a moderator, printed material for self-study and homework, material available in a website for self-learning, and small group web-based learning.
Conclusions:
There is a large unmet need to implement educational interventions to improve residents’ educational skills in postgraduate educational programs in developing countries. Most perceived needs of residents are practical and clinically oriented, and they prefer traditional educational strategies. Resident as teachers educational interventions need to be designed taking into account local needs and resources.
Pediatric resident and faculty attitudes toward self-assessment and self-directed learning: a cross-sectional study
Background:The development of self-assessment and self-directed learning skills is essential to lifelong learning and becoming an effective physician. Pediatric residents in the United States are now required to use Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs) to document self-assessment and self-directed learning. A better understanding of resident and faculty attitudes and skills about self-assessment and self-directed learning will allow more successful integration of lifelong learning into residency education. The objective of this study was to compare faculty and resident attitudes, knowledge and skills about self-assessment, self-directed learning and ILPs. Methods:Survey of pediatric residents and faculty at a single institution. Respondents rated their attitudes, knowledge, and self-perceived skills surrounding self-assessment, self-directed learning and ILPs.Results:Overall survey response rate was 81% (79/97); 100% (36/36) residents and 70% (43/61) faculty. Residents and faculty agreed that lifelong learning is a necessary part of being a physician. Both groups were comfortable with assessing their own strengths and weaknesses and developing specific goals to improve their own performance. However, residents were less likely than faculty to continuously assess their own performance (44% vs. 81%; p<0.001) or continuously direct their own learning (53% vs. 86%; p<0.001). Residents were more likely than faculty to believe that residents should be primarily responsible for directing their own learning (64% vs. 19%; p<0.0001), but at the same time, more residents believed that assigned clinical (31% vs. 0%; p<0.0001) or curricular (31% vs. 0%; p<0.0001) experiences were sufficient to make them competent physicians. Interns were less likely than senior residents to have a good understanding of how to assess their own skills (8% vs. 58%; p=0.004) or what it means to be a self-directed learner (50% vs. 83%; p=0.04).Qualitative comments indicated that while ILPs have the potential to help learners develop individualized, goal-directed learning plans based on strengths and weaknesses, successful implementation will require dedicated time and resident and faculty development.Conclusions:These findings suggest that training and experience are necessary for physicians to understand the role of self-directed learning in education. Deliberate practice, for example by requiring residents to use ILPs, may facilitate self-directed, lifelong learning.



