Maximising the potential of part-time clinical teachers.
BACKGROUND
A problem faced by health professions education throughout the world is a lack of full-time clinical teachers. This is particularly serious in dentistry and nursing, but is increasingly also true in medicine. To make up for this shortfall there is a growing reliance on part-time clinical teachers.


BACKGROUND
Part-time clinical teachers are essential for the education of students. However, compared with their full-time counterparts, the part-time teachers are often not adequately prepared for their roles as educators within the context of the clinical curriculum. They might not be trained in the latest educational practices, and may be unprepared for the time needed to excel as teachers and mentors.


CONCLUSIONS
As part-time teachers take on more responsibility, it is important that they take part in orientation and training sessions to assist them in developing the skills they need to succeed. This will require a significant commitment from the institution as well as the part-time teacher, but is critical for maintaining the academic quality of the clinical training programmes. This also represents an untapped area for research into how to ensure the success of part-time clinical teachers.
Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. Patston@uic.edu
Philip
P
Patston
David
D
Holmes
Ahmad
A
Maalhagh-Fard
Kang
K
Ting
Vincent B
VB
Ziccardi
D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005179:Faculty, Dental / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006801:Humans; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors