title: Developing medical students as teachers: an anatomy-based student-as-teacher program with emphasis on core teaching competencies.
abstract: Teaching is an increasingly recognized responsibility of the resident physician. Residents, however, often assume teaching responsibilities without adequate preparation. Consequently, many medical schools have implemented student-as-teacher (SAT) programs that provide near-peer teaching opportunities to senior medical students. Near-peer teaching is widely regarded as an effective teaching modality; however, whether near-peer teaching experiences in medical school prepare students for the teaching demands of residency is less understood. We explored whether the anatomy-based SAT program through the Human Structure didactic block at Mayo Medical School addressed the core teaching competencies of a medical educator and prepared its participants for further teaching roles in their medical careers. A web-based survey was sent to all teaching assistants in the anatomy-based SAT program over the past five years (2007-2011). Survey questions were constructed based on previously published competencies in seven teaching domains--course development, course organization, teaching execution, student coaching, student assessment, teacher evaluation, and scholarship. Results of the survey indicate that participants in the anatomy-based SAT program achieved core competencies of a medical educator and felt prepared for the teaching demands of residency.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Medical School, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Erie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andrew Jay
authors.forename: Sidney J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Starkman
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pawlina
authors.forename: Nirusha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lachman
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008910:Minnesota; D010379:Peer Group; D010465:Perception; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*
keywords: gross anatomy education; medical education; near-peer teaching; peer-learning; peer-teaching; residency preparation; students-as-teachers; teaching assistants; teaching competencies