The influence of residents training level on their evaluation of clinical teaching faculty.
BACKGROUND
Evaluations by learners are the most common sources of information on teaching. There is some debate about the role of these assessments, but the overall evaluation of faculty by learners was found to be valid and reliable.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the level of training of family medicine residents and their evaluation of emergency medicine clinical teachers over time.


METHODS
A prospective cohort analysis of 6 years of faculty evaluation of 115 teachers was conducted.


RESULTS
The 562 residents returned 3,046 valid individual evaluations. There was no significant association between the level of residents' training and the ratings for clinical instruction (p > .05). Resident evaluations did not vary by time of year (p > .05); however, they did significantly differ by year of evaluation, showing that ratings increased over the 6 years of the study (p < .0001).


CONCLUSIONS
Neither the residents' level of training nor the timing during the academic year were significant independent predictors of perceived superior teaching performance, although ratings increased over the 6 years of the study.
Steiner
Ivan P
IP
Department of Family Medicine and Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. ivan.steiner@ualberta.ca
Yoon
Philip W
PW
Kelly
Karen D
KD
Diner
Barry M
BM
Blitz
Sandra
S
Donoff
Michel G
MG
Rowe
Brian H
BH
D000416:Alberta; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education; D005178:Faculty; D007396:Internship and Residency