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Updated: Jul 7, 2026
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Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques
Published on: December 9, 2022
Improving bedside teaching: findings from a focus group study of learners
Keith N Williams1, Subha Ramani, Bruce Fraser
1Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany St., Vose 320, Boston, MA 02118, USA. Keith.Williams@bmc.org
Summary
Bedside teaching is valuable for clinical skills but underutilized. Learners identified barriers like time constraints and faculty attitudes, suggesting strategies such as patient involvement and faculty development to improve its effectiveness.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education Research
- Clinical Skills Training
- Qualitative Research Methods
Background:
- Bedside teaching constitutes a small fraction (8-19%) of clinical education time.
- Previous research on the decline of bedside teaching has overlooked learner perspectives.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore learners' attitudes toward bedside teaching.
- To identify barriers to bedside teaching frequency and effectiveness.
- To determine if training stage influences learner perspectives on bedside teaching.
Main Methods:
- Six focus groups conducted with fourth-year medical students and internal medicine residents.
- Discussions analyzed using qualitative methods to understand learner experiences.
Main Results:
- Learners perceive bedside teaching as crucial for essential clinical skills development.
- Identified barriers include lack of patient respect, time constraints, learner autonomy issues, faculty-related factors, and technology overreliance.
- Suggested strategies involve patient inclusion, flexible scheduling, reinforcing learner autonomy, faculty development, and promoting evidence-based physical diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- Bedside teaching remains a valuable yet underutilized educational method.
- Addressing barriers requires patient engagement, learner collaboration, faculty development, and fostering a supportive institutional culture.
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