34 | JADE
DAVID S BLANCHARD AND ELIOT REES
Tip 6 : Teach all undergraduate medical students basic teaching theory and skills
As doctors have a professional obligation to teach ( GMC 2009 , 2011 ) there is a clear need for medical students to be taught how to teach and it has been suggested that the acquisition of such teaching skills should commence within the undergraduate curriculum ( Dandavino et al 2007 , Lockspeiser et al 2008 , Amorosa et al 2011 , Silbert & Lake 2012 ). Medical students involved in peer-teaching have requested instruction on how to teach ( Lockspeiser et al , 2008 ) and provision of basic educational training for students who teach other students has been suggested ( Wadoodi and Crosby 2002 , Dandavino et al 2007 , Ross & Cameron 2007 ). Such a programme should provide students with knowledge of the basic principles of teaching , improve teaching skills and reduce anxiety related to future teaching responsibilities ( Dandavino et al 2007 ). There are already established teaching courses which form compulsory parts of some medical courses ( Zijdenbos et al 2011 ) but this is rare within the UK ( Burgess et al 2014 ).
At Keele , in order to provide the opportunity for undergraduate students to develop teaching skills , we have piloted a new Teaching Student Teachers ( TST ) course with the aim of eventually establishing it within the undergraduate curriculum .
Tip 7 : Provide opportunities for faculty observed peerteaching within the curriculum
Although Dandavino et al ( 2007 ) argued that students should practice their teaching skills with ‘ an appropriate balance of support and independence ’ there are few published examples of students teaching within the nurturing environment of the undergraduate curriculum ( Burgess et al 2014 ). At Keele we felt that if we were to teach students teaching skills , then we must also provide opportunities for those skills to be practiced in a safe educational environment with appropriate monitoring and feedback . To this end we have established , especially in the fifth year of the course , sessions within the curriculum where teaching by students can take place and be observed by faculty members so that developmental feedback can be provided . At present this includes optional student sign-ups to lead clinical and communication skills sessions and ward induction and orientation meetings between students .