A must-do course for all clinical trainees!

Kayla Roddick, ND
Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Fellow, PGY-5 VA
Boston/SRH

Clinical Teaching is an important part of medical education, whether you are participating from the learner side or the teaching side; We are trainees are fortunate to be in a position where we participate from both sides. 

At the beginning of medical school, we are submersed in new materials and new guidelines, and expected to learn them quickly. Once we begin clinicals, we learn how

Niagara Falls, Canada.  Location of the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury
Rehabilitation Association Biannual Conference 2019, which I attended to
enhance my knowledge of rehabilitation burden on global health care.

to apply what we learned in practice, and during residency we learn how to become more efficient and enhance of knowledge of the ever-expanding and changing health care world.

I found this course to be extremely helpful in identifying different learning types, and how to approach each one systematically. I feel like the course prepares you to be able to give adequate feedback to learners who are struggling in a non-judgmental way, as well as to advocate for feedback for ourselves as learners.   It was especially beneficial to be surrounded by a multi-disciplinary group and learn about the struggles from both an acute care side, and a chronic/rehabilitation side.  Since participating in this course, I have already modified several of my presentations to be more focused and more interactive. Creating a “toolbox” of information to be able to sit down with residents and medical students to discuss topics on the off chance that you have a free minute. One of the hardest parts of teaching during training is time management and this has allowed me to focus on the more relevant topics and use them during coffee breaks. 

I strongly encourage trainees to participate in this course, it would be especially beneficial to take it once early in training and then again later as a refresher and to see how your perspectives change after taking on more of a teacher role.