Teaching Procedural Skills: A Structured, Evidence-Informed Framework for Clinician-Educators Across Resource...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Skills Training
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Procedural competence is crucial for safe clinical practice.
• Current teaching methods for procedural skills are often unstructured, relying on informal models.
• Clinicians are trained to perform procedures but not necessarily to teach them effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose the Structured Procedural Mastery (SPM) Framework for teaching procedural skills.
• To provide a practical, evidence-informed approach for clinician-educators.
• To enhance the acquisition of complex clinical skills in various settings, including low- and middle-income countries.

Main Methods:

• The SPM Framework integrates cognitive load theory, deliberate practice, motor learning science, and stage-based skill acquisition models.
• It is organized into three teaching phases: preparing to teach, teaching with deliberate progression, and consolidating learning.
• The framework is adaptable across different procedures and resource settings, utilizing simulation as a structured practice environment.

Main Results:

• The framework offers a step-by-step pathway for teaching any clinical procedure.
• It provides practical tools for faculty development.
• The SPM Framework is particularly relevant for resource-constrained clinical training environments.

Conclusions:

• The SPM Framework provides a clear, evidence-informed structure for effective procedural skills teaching.
• It aims to translate procedural expertise into improved teaching methods for clinician-educators.
• This framework supports faculty development and enhances patient safety through better procedural training.