An intensive medical education elective for senior medical students

Peer teaching by medical students is increasingly consid- ered an effective and efficient instructional modality with value for both teachers and learners. In 2012, twelve senior medical students participated in an inaugural, four-week Medical Education Elective at The Alpert Medical School of Brown University. The first week emphasized education theory and skills. During the remaining three weeks, participants served as a core group of instructors in a Clinical Skills Clerkship (CSC), a three-week required course transitioning rising third-year students to clinical clerkships. Senior near-peer instructors (NPIs) gained substantive experience in developing curriculum, facilitating small group sessions, teaching clinical skills, mentoring, providing feedback, and grading an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Based on direct observation by faculty and written anonymous evaluations by learners (n=98), NPIs demonstrated a high degree of teaching competence. This innovative, by-invitation-only, annual elective is the most substantive medical education experience for medical students described in the literature.