Observed Structured Teaching Experiences (OSTEs) in a Students as Teachers Course

Teaching is an important competency in graduate medical education (GME). Many residency programs have implemented curricula to develop residents' teaching skills and observed structured teaching experiences (OSTEs) have been used to assess these skills. There is an increasing focus on building teaching skills earlier in the medical education continuum, however, there is limited literature on assessing medical students' teaching skills. The authors developed an OSTE for medical students enrolled in a students-as-teachers course to address this gap and provide formative feedback on teaching skills.

OSTEs were conducted for fourth-year medical students (M4s) enrolled in a Students as Teachers Advanced Elective at a US medical school. An M4 observed a first-year medical student (M1) during a simulated encounter with a standardized patient. The M4 gave feedback and a chalk talk. A physician observer assessed the M4's teaching using the modified Stanford Faculty Development Program (SFDP) questionnaire. The M1s and M4s also completed the SFDP. The M4 completed pre- and post-OSTE self-efficacy surveys (score range 6-30) and a post-OSTE acceptability survey.

All (30/30) M4s completed the OSTE. The SFDP identified common teaching strengths and areas for growth. ANOVA tests demonstrated significant differences between the mean (SD) scores from physician assessors, M1s, and M4s [4.56 (0.63) vs. 4.87 (0.35) vs. 4.08 (0.74), p<0.001]. There was a statistically significant difference in mean (SD) self-efficacy scores pre- and post-OSTE [18.72 (3.39) vs. 23.83 (3.26), p<0.001]. All M4s (30/30) somewhat or strongly agreed with all three OSTE acceptability questions.

The authors successfully conducted an OSTE in an M4 advanced elective. The OSTE was highly acceptable to participants, and M4s demonstrated improved teaching self-efficacy. Further research should explore the validity of the OSTE to measure medical students' teaching skills and the long-term impact of developing teaching skills in medical school.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01952-3.