The resident as a teacher: a neglected role

Residents are frequently requested to take on teaching responsibilities, especially with medical students, but they receive little formal preparation for this role. This paper reviews some of the problems residents may face when teaching and describes a training workshop designed to enhance the teaching skills of residents. The workshop is based around a simulated teaching event that focuses on the organizational and practical, as well as didactic tasks involved in supervision of a clinical clerk. Such a workshop helps the resident to identify and prepare for some of the problems they may encounter and provides them with an opportunity to develop new skills that will improve the quality of their teaching.