Exploration of Factors That Positively Influence Medical Student Reception of Question-Based Teaching in Clinical...

Academic medicine literature has reported hesitation from clinical teaching physicians to use questions when teaching medical students due to its negative connotation of "pimping." However, newer literature suggests that most students prefer questions, while only a small minority are less welcoming. Some teaching physicians, however, have concerns about using questions due to the risk of humiliating or embarrassing medical students in clinical settings.

Medical students who completed core clerkship rotations at a public medical school in the Midwest were invited to participate in 1 of 4 virtual focus groups. Students were asked to reflect on 3 clinical teaching vignettes. Inductive thematic qualitative analysis was performed to create a codebook. The transcripts were coded by 2 independent coders for emerging themes.

Twenty-six students participated across 4 groups. Four major themes were identified that demonstrate positive student reception of teaching physicians and their questions: teaching physicians (1) engaging students, (2) setting clear expectations, (3) empathizing with the medical student experience, and (4) asking questions to teach rather than evaluate. Thematic coding of the 3 vignettes resulted in initial intercoder reliabilities of 85.4%, 87%, and 79%, prior to achieving 100% consensus. Students described the ideal teaching physician to be patient, engaged, and respectful.

By engaging medical students, setting clear expectations early on, empathizing with the medical student experience, and asking questions with the purpose of teaching, teaching physicians can be less hesitant about upsetting medical students when utilizing questions as a teaching tool.