Teaching

This Changed My Teaching

Teaching Serious Illness Conversations using the Elephant and Rider Model

Teaching Serious Illness Conversations using the Elephant and Rider Model

How can we approach serious illness conversations? How can we expand and deepen our understanding of existing tools so that we may apply them to situations we don’t anticipate?

Learning from each other: A Peer Coaching Program

Learning from each other: A Peer Coaching Program

In preparation for teaching a Clinical Skills session, we diligently reviewed the tutor guide and video ahead of time.  However, we sometimes wondered how other teachers were translating the advice from the guide into their teaching.

Why does my student seem disengaged? A perspective on learner engagement in new environments

Why does my student seem disengaged? A perspective on learner engagement in new environments

I wondered why new learners just transitioning to new clinical experiences sometimes seemed hesitant to participate and thus appeared less engaged in clinics and journal clubs. I found that some learners would jump in and take part in conversations, discussions, and even engaging with patients.

Why Am I Talking?

Why Am I Talking?

Dr. Deborah Altow (biography and disclosures) What I did before Like many teachers, I was seduced by the imperative to make sure my students gained the benefit of my experience, and thus I talked too much. I had always told my students that the two 4-letter words they needed most were KIND and WAIT. One […]

Stuck in Transmission: Time to Change Gears

Stuck in Transmission: Time to Change Gears

In the past I followed a tried and tested format for classroom lecturing ‘Tell them what you are going to tell them’ (a set of well-written educational objectives), ‘tell them what you want to tell them’ (no shortage of instructional papers on how to develop a good PowerPoint presentation) and finally ‘tell them what you have told them’ (a concise summary).

The Importance of Words in Clinical Teaching

The Importance of Words in Clinical Teaching

Before this incident in the emergency room, I had no established teaching practice that focused consciously on checking the veracity of a trainees’ use and understanding of medical terminology. This challenged my assumption that the medical student comprehended such composite terms accurately.

Going Experiential

Going Experiential

An ongoing problem with student supervision in the clinical setting is managing the expectations of Clinical supervisors. Frequently, clinical supervisors are clinicians with many years of experience in their specialty, who have not been practicing at “entry level” for some time.