A systematic review about the most important attributes of clinical teachers

Abstract

Knowing what characterizes an excellent teacher is relevant to guide training, evaluation, and continuous improvement of the clinical teacher. We performed a systematic review using the PRISMA protocol, aiming to identify the attributes of an excellent clinical teacher. MEDLINE, ERIC, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases were searched for articles published in English and Spanish, between 2007 and 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted and synthesized data from articles that met the PRISMA pre-established criteria. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the 106 attributes reported by the studies, 49 (46,2%) were generic. The most frequently mentioned attribute was respectfulness. Forty-six attributes (43,3%) were pedagogical. Feedback and planning were those most frequently mentioned. Eleven attributes (10,3%) were disciplinary and clinical skills was the most mentioned. We conclude that generic and pedagogical dimensions had a greater representation in the literature, in comparison with the disciplinary dimension. This could be explained, considering that having adequate clinical skills is the minimal necessary requisite to become a clinical teacher, but does not make a difference in how their performance is perceived, contrary to the generic and pedagogical dimensions.