Best practice or last resort? Employing graduate teaching assistants as clinical instructors

Many institutions need to employ GTAs, and students need the teaching experience that working as a GTA offers. Some recommendations to support a positive outcome are as follows: (1) GTAs should not make up a significantly large percentage of the total clinical faculty employed. Yet within reasonable limits, employ GTAs, wherever possible; (2) evaluate GTAs’ performance on an ongoing as well as summative basis to be sure that they are meeting expectations set for providing instruction; and (3) hire new faculty members who worked previously as a GTA or in similar roles to ensure faculty succession with educators who are clinical experts.