Change in residents' perceptions of teaching: following a one day "Residents as Teachers" (RasT) workshop

The objective of this study was to assess the perceptions and attitudes of resident physicians toward teaching before and after participation in a mandatory "Residents as Teachers" (RasT) workshop in four domains: (1) setting goals and expectations, (2) use of clinical microskills in teaching, (3) evaluation and feedback, and (4) enthusiasm and preparedness toward teaching.

Pre- and postintervention questionnaires were utilized. Data were analyzed for all respondents. Subgroup analyses were performed for each academic year and for primary care versus nonprimary care specialties.

Over a 5-year period, 15 RasT workshops were presented to 276 residents from 10 different residency programs. Eighty-six percent completed the questionnaire before participation in the workshop, and 88% completed the questionnaire immediately after participation. The difference between the mean post-RasT and pre-RasT ratings on each item was used to measure the change in that item resulting from participation in the workshop.

Overall, residents' self-assessed ratings of their attitudes toward teaching were positively impacted by participation in a RasT workshop. Further subanalysis showed that residents in primary care specialties showed a significantly greater increase in their ratings than residents in nonprimary care specialties.