Empowering the next generation of educators!

Derek S. Stenquist, M.D. 

Resident in Orthopaedic Surgery  

Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital 

PGY 5

11/12/2020

The COE clinical teaching course allowed me to take a first concrete step towards a major goal I have in my career, which is to be an excellent surgical educator like some of my mentors. I know that being a standout educator takes dedicated practice and I was really excited that this course allowed me to take a first step toward acquiring these skills.

The teaching scenario portion of the clinical teaching
course was a great opportunity to break practice 
putting together a lesson for learners. The feedback
from peers was excellent!

 The COE clinical teaching course changed how I think about my future, because it showed me the value of becoming a more thoughtful and deliberate educator. Just the fact that this course is offered to trainees really sends a message that educational aptitude is valued and that I should spend more time thinking about how I behave and perform as an educator. I was particularly fascinated by the very concrete ways we can apply findings from the educational theory experiments we discussed to enhance our clinical teaching. It made me want to incorporate it into my career to become a stronger educator and make this part of my identity as a surgical attending.

I also loved that I didn’t need to wait to start using what I learned in the COE course. I went to work the very next day and tried to apply some of what I learned in my interactions with younger residents in order to be a better educator as a senior resident. I take more care to elicit a learner’s goals and I am more deliberate about the lessons I want to impart. I will also use the skills from the course in my next role as a fellow and then as an attending for both teaching and for giving feedback. We discussed very specific strategies for giving feedback and I realized that the attendings in our program who already use these strategies for feedback are the best educators. I aspire to be like them.

Overall, I’m very grateful for this opportunity and the fact that the GME office sets aside a day to have experts create this programming and then sponsors residents to attend. It empowers us to become the next generation of medical educators and pay it forward.