Essential Skills for a Medical Teacher, 1st Edition

Section 1 The roles and competences of a "good" teacher

• What is a good teacher?.
• Understanding basic educational principles.
• Being an enthusiastic and passionate teacher
• Knowing what works best.
• Checking your performance as a teacher and keeping up-to-date.

Section 2 Defining Learning outcomes

• The need for an outcome-based approach.
• Specifying learning outcomes and competencies.
• Describing and communicating the learning outcomes.
• Implementing an outcome-based approach in practice.

Section 3 Organising the learning programme

• What constitutes a curriculum
• Ten questions to ask when planning a curriculum
• Sequencing the content and the spiral curriculum.
• Adopting a student-centred approach
• Building learning around problems and clinical presentations
• Using an integrated and inter-professional approach
• Making the apprenticeship model and work-based learning more effective.
• Building options into a core curriculum
• Recognising the importance of the education environment.
• Mapping the curriculum

Section 4 Facilitating learning

• The teachers toolkit
• The lectures and teaching with large groups
• Learning in small groups.
• Independent learning
• Teaching and learning in the clinical context
• Simulation of the clinical experience
• E-learning
• Peer teaching and collaborative learning.

Section 5 Assessing the progress of the learner

• Six key questions to ask about assessment
• Written and computer-based assessment
• Clinical and performance-based assessment
• Portfolio assessment
• Assessment for admission to medicine and postgraduate training
• Evaluating the curriculum

Section 6 Today’s teacher and tomorrow’s doctors

• The Changing Role of the Teacher

Further reading

Appendices

Highly Commended in the 2013 BMA Medical Book Awards:

"I would definitely recommend this book, especially to any people just setting out in medical education. The book's strengths are that it is an excellent first book for medical education. It is easy-to-read and find the right areas within it, in fact it is easier to look in this book and find a subject area and then look up the listed 'further reading' suggestions than it is to look in more comprehensive texts. This book covers all the basic requirements of an educator setting out and has lots of ideas and tips to ensure the educator will succeed. The book is small and illustrated and therefore not daunting to dip into. It does not cover all the principles and theories of education, but it is so well written that I wished that it did cover these as well, rather than having to read about these in more complex books!"

"Essential Skills for a Medical Teacher provides a concise introduction to the field of medical education and is a practical guide underpinned by educational models and theory which are introduced alongside each section. The book covers what constitutes a 'good' medical teacher, outcome-based education, organizing a learning programme, and methods of teaching and assessment in medical education...The book is perfectly suited to those just getting involved in medical education at more than just a basic level and would complement those beginning to undertake study in this field, such as a postgraduate certificate in medical education. I will certainly be using it when I begin mine."

"Essential Skills for a Medical Teacher fulfils its mission to provide an excellent introduction as a well as a resource for advanced study. Harden and Laidlaw provide a common language and set of principles that should be as useful within chiropractic education as it is for education in other health professions. Read it to expand your own skills or, even better, read it with your colleagues to magnify the positive impact on chiropractic education."