A comparative study of teachers' attitudes in the teaching of undergraduate medical students

Senior staff of the departments of medicine, surgery and general practice in each medical school in the United Kingdom were asked to annotate the same case studies which had been prepared by medical students. Analysis of the annotations showed that general practitioners demanded much greater consideration by the student of the patient, his family and his environment, whereas physicians and surgeons tended to be more disease orientated. Nevertheless, expectations and attitudes of teachers in similar departments are remarkably diverse and this highlighted the potential role of the case study as an educational tool for staff and students alike. Many departments need to clarify the difference between undergraduate and postgraduate teaching objectives.