The Clinical Teaching Skills Course is Eye-Opening!

Amar Desai, MD

Resident in Anesthesiology 

Brigham and Women's Hospital 

PGY 3

02/22/2021

Amar Desai, MD

We begin learning as soon as we are born and never truly stop learning at any point in our lives. But how often are we taught how to learn? And even more rare, when are we taught how to teach? How I studied in medical school was drastically different than how I studied in college and high school. And how I study now, after long days of clinical duties, is different still. This course debunks many preconceived notions we have about adult learning with indisputable evidence. It has experts in the field of medical education take us through interactive discussions and personal teaching sessions to reveal our own strengths and areas of improvement when it comes to teaching and providing feedback to others.

 No one would question that teaching is important. But what is the best way to teach something complex and nuanced to a learner who is brand new to that topic? Is there even a “best way” for every person or are there different learning types toward which we need to tailor our teaching? How do we give constructive feedback to learners in the most warm, thought-provoking, and helpful way? And how do we possibly find the time in our busy clinical lives to even do all of this? Taking this course has given me insight into all of these questions as well as allowing me to witness my own style of providing teaching and feedback to others. The goal of this course isn’t to suddenly make someone a better learner or teaching. That is a skill that gets honed over a lifetime. But rather, this course and its leaders provide a framework of the principles of effective teaching and evidence-based learning practices that we can incorporate into our own lives as lifelong learners and educators. This course allowed me to reflect upon the most impactful teachers in my life and realize why they were so effective. It has fundamentally changed the way I will approach future teaching and feedback sessions. The potential beneficiaries of this course are not limited just to residents and fellows, or even all healthcare workers, but rather to all adults who have a passion for growth, learning, and teaching, regardless of profession or status.