Formalizing teaching responsibilities for junior surgical housestaff encourages educator development

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Resident Leadership

Background:

• Surgical resident-led teaching is often disorganized with unclear responsibilities.
• A structured approach may improve teaching quality and resident development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a designated "teaching resident" (TR) role on resident teaching behaviors and skills.
• To evaluate the effect of the TR role on medical student clerkship experiences.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed general surgery residents on teaching perceptions.
• Implemented a voluntary TR program for second-year residents.
• Compared resident teaching time and medical student evaluations pre- and post-TR implementation.

Main Results:

• Teaching resident time increased significantly from 0.625 to 2.75 hours/week (p=0.0026).
• Residents reported increased teaching skills, motivation, and leadership.
• Medical student clinical instruction scores rose from 2.17 to 3.25 (p=0.0054).
• Clerkship objective satisfaction improved from 3.17 to 3.75 (p=0.038).

Conclusions:

• Assigning responsibility in a mid-level leadership role enhances resident teaching.
• The teaching resident model benefits both residents and medical students.
• Further development and evaluation of this program are ongoing.