Medical teacher
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New challenges for clinical teachers include incorporating a deeper appreciation of the use of the published literature in day-to-day practice and teaching, responding to the profusion of diagnostic tests and treatments, and dealing with changing practical difficulties. We report a summary of a retreat conducted by our Department of Medicine in which our faculty presented and refined strategies they had developed to deal with these challenges. Areas of discussion include developing an effective medical team managing time on a busy clinical service, teaching pathophysiology, teaching clinical skills, and teaching critical appraisal. Our observations are likely to be useful to clinicians involved in patient-centred teaching in wards and clinics, particularly those interacting with groups of undergraduate and post-graduate trainees.
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New concern about the psychosocial development of medical students has resulted in a call for closer relationships between faculty and medical students. This review examines the literature on advising programs in medical schools and on mentoring generally to develop a better understanding of how faculty and students might interact. Innovative advising programs are discussed within the context of current thought about the value and structure of mentoring relationships.
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The first major intake of medical students who studied the new GCSE occurred in Autumn 1990. These students have experienced a range of student-centred educational approaches to learning, but medical education in the UK remains committed to teacher-centred approaches. ⋯ An innovative course in medical sociology at the University of Sheffield is reported, which illustrates student-centred learning approaches including transferable activity-skills development and self-assessment profiling. An innovative approach to course evaluation is discussed.
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A pilot study of the levels of stress among residents was conducted in three departments in a university hospital prior to initiating a programme in stress management for residents. The Beck Depression Inventory, which is a brief, standardized self-report measure of depression, was given to residents in anaesthesiology, paediatrics and psychiatry. Six additional questions were asked about the functioning of peers and services residents would like to have available. ⋯ Residents felt that about 15% of their colleagues were emotionally impaired; 10% may have a drug and/or alcohol problem; 12% were having marital problems. Eighty per cent of all residents studied said that they would attend support groups if they existed. Approximately 60% thought coping skills/stress management seminars would be useful, and 30% of the paediatric and anaesthesiology residents (60% of the psychiatry residents) said they would use confidential individual psychotherapy if it were available.