Medical Students' Perceptions of the Best Clinical Teaching

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Clerkships
• Student Learning Preferences

Background:

• Clinical-phase learning is crucial in medical education but faces challenges with increasing student numbers.
• Conflicting prior research exists on medical students' preferences for instructors at various career stages.
• Clerkship evaluations differ significantly across medical specialties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore medical students' perceptions regarding the ideal source of best clinical teaching.
• To identify specific doctor attributes and settings associated with superior clinical instruction.
• To understand the underlying reasons for student preferences in clinical teaching environments.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 4th- to 6th-year medical students at Tampere University, Finland.
• Participants provided data on preferred instructor characteristics (age, career stage) and teaching settings (specialty, location).
• Open-ended responses were analyzed using inductive content analysis to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• A total of 262 responses were collected, achieving a 62% response rate.
• Respondents favored resident doctors (54%), young doctors aged 25-34 (41%), university hospitals (34%), and internal medicine (25%).
• Key reasons for preference included instructors dedicating time, enthusiasm for teaching, and attentiveness to students.

Conclusions:

• Finnish medical students predominantly prefer clinical teaching from residents and younger physicians.
• Exposure to doctors across different career stages and diverse settings is recognized as beneficial.
• Enhancing clinical teaching requires allocating sufficient time, fostering active student engagement, and recognizing individual learning needs.