Assessment by attending physicians of a seminar method to improve clinical teaching

The authors in this article present assessments by attending physicians of a seminar method to improve clinical teaching. An experimental study was conducted to determine whether or not the seminar method (a) is perceived by attending physicians as beneficial, (b) modifies the physicians' attitudes toward teaching, (c) enables attending physicians to define needed teaching changes, (d) motivates them to improve their teaching performance, and (e) is perceived as having long-term benefits. Forty-six inpatient attending physicians from four California institutions participated in the study. The physicians were randomly assigned to an experimental group which attended a seminar on clinical teaching or to a control group which received no such intervention. Questionnaires completed by the physicians indicated that the teachers who experienced the seminar method perceived it as beneficial, improved their attitudes toward clinical teaching, determined needed teaching changes, attempted to implement new teaching approaches, and perceived long-term benefits.