5 Tips for Residents New to Teaching Medical Students

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Graduating from medical school is a time of transition that is filled with many responsibilities and opportunities. In a few short years, new physicians are expected to learn their trade and teach what they have learned to students along the way before being allowed to practice independently. As a medical student, trainees have the opportunity to learn from multiple providers from a range of specialties at all levels of training. Physicians in graduate medication education programs (i.e., residents) have a unique opportunity to provide training and teaching to medical students with a perspective that comes from being between the student and the expert attending physician. Whether students work with a resident during one day or over the course of several weeks, this time can be especially helpful in growing the student's knowledge base while honing the resident's teaching skills. The purpose of this article is to provide tips for resident physicians to use as they begin their role as teachers of medical students while balancing their responsibilities as trainees themselves. Many residency programs are developing formal resident as teacher programs to help facilitate their residents in becoming better teachers. These tips may be applied in such programs.