Sir, 'Signum scientis est posse docere.' This Latin dictum translates, 'The touchstone of knowledge is the ability to teach'. Henry Adams said: 'A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.' Why then are dental and medical educators feeling disillusioned, and why does the regard for teaching seem to be a lost convention? Even among clinicians there seems to be a lack of regard for educators. Many clinicians will attempt to impress those more junior with the quote, 'He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.' The implication is that teaching is a simple task and that anyone with a dental or medical qualification is automatically a teacher. However, this assumption is likely to be incorrect.1

The responsibilities of educators in dentistry are far-reaching. From undergraduate through to pre-consultant level, educators need to teach their juniors the application of theoretical knowledge to clinical practice, the development of thought processes capable of modifying original guiding concepts in the light of ever-changing evidence and the maintenance of composure and professionalism under the pressure of the most difficult clinical and bureaucratic conditions.

The most important common denominator for every great educator is undoubtedly enthusiasm in his or her subject. However, is enthusiasm enough? Clinicians will all be involved in teaching juniors at some point in their career. The word 'doctor' in fact comes from the Latin word for 'teacher'. The 'see one, do one, teach one' model of education is as old as medicine. However, teaching requires not only knowledge about the learning process, but also an appreciation of students' goals, motivations, and experiences, as well as a learning environment suitable to the student.2 Medicine has not appreciated the 'science' of teaching, and the concept that different people learn in different ways. Formal 'clinician as teacher' courses can be a vital step forward in training clinicians to become better teachers.

Educators are still financially supported mainly by their primary role of either clinician or researcher. It is said that, 'Education costs money, but then so does ignorance.' Maintaining high quality medical and dental educators may cost money, but poorly trained clinicians will cost a lot more in the long term!

Finally, is there any truth behind the often-quoted expression, 'He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches'? The phrase originates from the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1903). The phrase is, however, used out of context, as Shaw was referring to revolutionaries, not teachers.3 Perhaps the next time one hears the phrase used out of context, one may respond with the quote, 'Those who can, do; those who understand, teach.' This is from Aristotle, and he was referring to teachers!