Bedside teaching - insights into the medical student experience and likely impact on future role as clinical teacher

Medical students and doctors are rarely taught how to be educators, but are expected to perform the role of clinical teacher once qualified (Kloek AT, Van Zijl ACM, ten Cate OTJ, Perspect Med Educ. 5:325-331, 2016). Qureshi (Perspect Med Edu 3:69-72, 2014) suggests that development of teaching skills should be incorporated into the undergraduate medical curriculum, while Charnell et al. (Br J Med Pract. 11:a1103, 2018) advocate providing training after graduation and as an integrated part of an induction programme. No such strategies currently exist for our graduates, and there is a lack of opinion regarding their expectations and ability to deliver bedside teaching.

This qualitative study sought to explore the varied experiences of medical students with regards to bedside teaching, and the influence such encounters may have on their future potential role as educators. In-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen final year medical students to gain a detailed understanding. Thematic analysis was conducted to organise the data into themes and sub-themes.

Medical students identified a range of affirmative and challenging aspects regarding their undergraduate experiences. All recognized important practices necessary to meet individual learning needs and highlighted the positive impact such experiences would have on their future role as educators. Students preferred receiving constructive feedback as opposed to positive or no feedback at all, and all acknowledged a sense of responsibility towards being a future educator.

The findings of this study suggest that while medical students recognise the role of doctors as clinical educators, and strive to fulfil this responsibility based on their own undergraduate experiences, training in the art of clinical teaching would be of benefit to all.