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Teaching residents to be teachers

Nature Clinical Practice Neurology volume 3, pages 236–237 (2007)Cite this article

Teaching is at the root of being a doctor, figuratively and literally (the word 'doctor' is derived from the Latin word docere, which means 'to teach'). This notion needs to be reinforced to all residents, especially neurologists. I was reminded of the approach some residents take toward teaching when I commented on a senior resident's lack of interest in medical students. He responded with a shocking statement: “I am not interested in teaching.” He failed to recognize that teaching is a vital skill, necessary for both patient care and communicating with other health-care professionals. Physicians need to be aware that every interaction with patients is a confidential teaching session. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of teaching and to discuss potential methods by which to assess and improve residents' teaching skills.

When physicians teach patients about their disease, a rapport is built and a partnership is created to carry out the treatment plan. When patients are involved in their own care, satisfaction and compliance are increased. There is a correlation between effective physician–patient communication and improved health outcomes.1 Although this concept seems obvious, patients are at risk of becoming uninformed and uninvolved because of increasing pressures on physicians to see more patients and handle growing administrative burdens. The same skills residents use to teach students can be used to effectively educate patients about their illness or explain a procedure. Teaching students and colleagues is, therefore, one means by which to become adept at educating patients about their illness. Explaining diseases to students is a process similar to teaching patients about their own bodies.

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  1. Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, C329, Boston, MA 02118, USA samfrank@bu.edu

Authors and Affiliations

  1. S Frank is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.,

    Samuel Frank

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Frank, S. Teaching residents to be teachers. Nat Rev Neurol 3, 236–237 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0465

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