LTE SEMINAR | Towards a relevant and context appropriate short course to support clinicians in their role as teachers
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Faculties of Medicine and Health Sciences are responsible for nurturing graduates who are both professional and competent. Health professions curricula consist of theoretical and practical components. While theoretical instruction occurs primarily at the university, a significant portion of training takes place in clinical settings, where students apply knowledge and develop essential skills. Graduates are expected to be communicators, leaders, and socially responsive professionals who understand their community responsibilities (1).
The FMHS curricula adopt a patient-centred approach (2), aiming to produce graduates who are both competent and caring. In public hospitals and primary clinics, students are supervised and mentored by practicing clinicians. While some clinicians are passionate about teaching, others are less engaged, and many lack formal training in education. To address this, the Department of Health Professions Education (DHPE) at FMHS, Stellenbosch University, has been offering the CAT short course. Designed for clinicians teaching undergraduate students across clinical platforms, the course has received largely positive feedback. However, course designers recognized that some content had become outdated (3).
Following a literature review and stakeholder discussions, two major issues were identified:
Mode of delivery: A mixed need for online and face-to-face formats.
Course content: Greater emphasis on graduate attributes, social responsibility, and psychological safety was needed to align with evolving expectations.
We are currently considering how we can include these topics in the short course, despite the limited teaching time we have.
Sources:
Clithero-Eridon, A., Ross, A. and Albright, D., 2020. Conceptualising social accountability as an attribute of medical education. African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, 12(1), pp.1-8.
Epstein, R.M., Franks, P., Fiscella, K., Shields, C.G., Meldrum, S.C., Kravitz, R.L. and Duberstein, P.R., 2005. Measuring patient-centered communication in patient–physician consultations: theoretical and practical issues. Social science & medicine, 61(7), pp.1516-1528.
McLean, M. and Gibbs, T., 2010. Twelve tips to designing and implementing a learner-centred curriculum: Prevention is better than cure. Medical teacher, 32(3), pp.225-230.