Students have definite views on characteristics of effective clinical teachers
Editor - The University of Liverpool has been commended on its involvement of students in planning its undergraduate medical curriculum.1 As part of a special study module we asked our fellow third year students their views on the qualities of effective clinical teachers after a recent hospital attachment as there is a comparative dearth of studies looking at medical education issues from the students' perspective. We followed up on a study by Wright et al who examined the characteristics of effective clinical teachers.2 Work has also been done on the attitudes of clinicians to teaching and to their students.3,4
We surveyed 50 third year students by questionnaire. Every student who received a questionnaire returned it, and there are about 190 students in our year. The findings mostly confirmed what might be intuitively expected and what other research has suggested, but it is useful to have this reinforced by the agreement of the students. It was interesting to note how clear the students were about the characteristics of good teachers and how strong the consensus was. In particular, students valued teachers who valued them and treated them with respect. The statement that received the strongest support (75% strongly agreed) was that good teachers enjoyed teaching and were interested in their students.
Opinion as to how clinical teaching could be improved was more varied, and some fairly forthright suggestions were made. For example, 95% agreed or strongly agreed that teachers who do not like students should be removed from the teaching rota and 97% that all teachers should receive teacher training.
It is clear from this that the focus of development work for clinical teachers needs to be at least as much on attitudes to teaching as on teaching methods and skills. More thorough research into students' views seems to be a worthwhile line to pursue, since teaching can only be considered effective if it elicits a positive response from the students.
Nigel Purcell, staff development officer
Email: NIGELPURCELL@compuserve.com
Ted Adams, third year representative
Email: md0u7133@liverpool.ac.uk
Paul Herdman, third year medical student, Department of Health Care Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX
Email: medu5024@liverpool.ac.uk
studentBMJ 2000;08:89-130 April ISSN 0966-6494
- General Medical Council. Report of the visit to the Faculty of Medicine and the Mersey Deanery. Liverpool: University of Liverpool 1999.
- Wright SM, Kern DE, Kolodner K, Howard DM, Brancati FL. N Engl J Med 1998;339:27.
- Finucane P, Allery LA, Hayes TM. Comparison of teachers at a traditional and innovative medical school. Med Teach 1995;29:104.9.
- Kassebaum DG, Ellen R, Cutler MPP. On the culture of abuse at medical school. Acad Med 1998;73:1149.58.
