Tips on...Getting teaching on the wards

Approach a senior house officer—Senior house officers (SHOs) are close enough to graduating from medical school to remember student life. They are easily approachable and able to give advice on books, exam tips, and career guidance. Yet at the same time, SHOs are likely to be doing exams and should be oozing with knowledge. They are therefore in a unique position to pass on their wisdom. Teaching is assumed as part of an SHO’s training as set by his or her employing deanery. Most SHOs write on their CV that they teach, so subtly make sure that they do.

• Investigate—When do ward rounds start? If you don’t take the attachment seriously the doctors won’t take you seriously, so don’t be late.
  
• Allocate—Divide your firm up into smaller groups of two and agree to rotate between observing procedures, attending clinics, and going on call. Teaching is unmanageable otherwise.
  
• Be noticed—Hang around. Doctors will soon recognise you and approach you if there are interesting things to see.
  
• Be professional—Don’t be the one turning up to the ward at midday with bloodshot eyes, an unironed shirt, and alcohol on your breath.
  
• Commitments—Explain your timetable to the SHO so that he or she knows that you’re watching a bronchoscopy and not drinking at the pub.
  
• On-take—this is where you will see acute medical emergencies and learn the most from your clinical exposure. Make the most of it.
  
• Be inquisitive—Note aspects of the patient’s care or condition that you don’t understand and arrange a time for the SHO to go through it with you later. Ask about the operating list so you can read up about the patient’s condition beforehand — the operation will mean a lot more to you.
  
• Be part of the team—Follow patients from their admission to their discharge. You get a better impression of the patient’s care and management.
  
• Clerk patients—Lots of them. Patients are often very knowledgeable about their condition, and hearing their account will give you a better understanding than any description you’ll find in textbooks. Present the history to the SHO—you’re more likely to remember the condition at exam time.
  
• Give advance warning of teaching topics —a single doctor is unlikely to have enough specialist knowledge to teach every topic on the syllabus. Time for preparation allows them to give a far more comprehensive tutorial. Organise a set time every week for them to spend an hour to teach you—that way they won’t forget.
  
• Network—Your new friend can introduce you to other doctors who might be keen to teach or offer insight into broader fields of medicine. Ask about careers, particular jobs, and how they have got this far.