An assessment of student satisfaction with peer teaching of clinical communication skills.

Jonathan Ka Mills,William J Dalleywater,Victoria Tischler

doi:10.1186/1472-6920-14-217

Abstract

BackgroundPeer teaching is now used in medical education with its value increasingly being recognised. It is not yet established whether students differ in their satisfaction with teaching by peer-teachers compared to those taught by academic or clinical staff. This study aimed to establish satisfaction with communication skills teaching between these three teaching groups.MethodsStudents participated in a role-play practical facilitated either by clinicians, peer-teachers or non-clinical staff. A questionnaire was administered to first-year medical students after participating in a communication skills role-play session asking students to evaluate their satisfaction with the session. Data were analysed in SPSS 20.ResultsOne hundred and ninety eight students out of 239 (83%) responded. Students were highly satisfied with the teaching session with no difference in satisfaction scores found between those sessions taught by peers, clinical and non-clinical staff members. 158 (80%) considered the session useful and 139 (69%) strongly agreed tutors facilitated their development. There was no significant difference in satisfaction scores based on tutor background.ConclusionsSatisfaction is as high when tutored by peer-teachers compared to clinicians or non-clinical staff. Constructive feedback is welcomed from a range of personnel. Final-year students could play an increasing role in the teaching of pre-clinical medical students.

Highlights

Peer teaching is used in medical education with its value increasingly being recognised
There is limited evidence on how satisfied students are with peer teaching compared to teaching delivered by a faculty member, and how receptive students are to feedback from near-peer student teachers on their communication skills
Ninety seven (49%) were taught by non-clinical academic staff, 60 (30%) taught by clinicians and 41 (21%) responses were received from those taught by final year peer-teachers

Summary

Introduction

Peer teaching is used in medical education with its value increasingly being recognised It is not yet established whether students differ in their satisfaction with teaching by peer-teachers compared to those taught by academic or clinical staff. Near-peer teaching (defined as a student or junior doctor one or more years senior to another student on the same course of medical training) is becoming increasingly popular [1,2] and affords many benefits to faculty and students alike, from being cost-effective to developing the student as a teacher [3]. In a problem-based curriculum, peer-teachers who facilitated small group tutorials were perceived as better in delivering feedback, empathising with student difficulties, creating a better tutorial atmosphere, and gaining support from learners compared to groups facilitated by a faculty member [18]. There is limited evidence on how satisfied students are with peer teaching compared to teaching delivered by a faculty member, and how receptive students are to feedback from near-peer student teachers on their communication skills

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