A course on teaching for house officers

A pilot course on clinical teaching methods was given to 11 volunteer third-year medical residents. The course consisted of four weekly two-hour sessions designed to cover the areas in which house officers do the most teaching. Both clinical and nonclinical educators participated as faculty members in an attempt to create balance in perspective. A homogeneous group was invited to volunteer to create an atmosphere in which trust, common experience, and clinical experience could be used to maximum advantage by the faculty. A relaxed "nonclassroom" atmosphere was created that facilitated interchange. The course was uniformly well received. Though only a pilot course, the experience suggests that formal education in the field of clinical teaching is well received by house staff members.