The Pediatric Resident Teaching Group: the Development and Evaluation of a Longitudinal Resident as Teacher Program

Abstract

Residents serve as teachers in both formal and informal settings in medicine. As a result, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires the development of teaching competency. However, many residency programs lack Resident as Teacher (RAT) curricula; those that do have variable content and structure. Based on established conceptual frameworks, we created a longitudinal pediatric resident teaching group (PRTG). The members were self-selected pediatric residents who participated in faculty-led interactive didactic sessions focused on teaching skill development and were linked with resident-led teaching and mentoring of preclinical medical students in pediatrics. To assess program efficacy, residents completed a self-assessment of teaching skills prior to and at the end of each year of the program, and students completed evaluations of the residents’ teaching abilities. PRTG residents reported a significantly increased usage of teaching skills, as well as increased confidence and comfort teaching. Students assessed the residents to be “good” or “above average” teachers and found their learning “equivalent to” or “better than” when taught by an attending. PRTG residents found the program to be a feasible time commitment with the didactic skills session content useful and easily integrated into their teaching practice. The PRTG curriculum provides a consistent longitudinal framework for teaching skill acquisition that can enhance existing RAT programs to foster residents’ comfort teaching and skill usage.