Teaching in medical school can be very challenging. The standards and expectations of a medical teacher are stringent and specific. But adhering to such standards helps the education system produce high-quality doctors. For those who teach medical students or who wish to pursue this career path, knowing some basic tips can enhance your ability to teach at medical school.
Understand your Student's Progress
Medical school can be daunting for students. Medical school has so many requirements for students to fulfill before passing. Work to understand how each of your students is progressing before you make assumptions about their abilities or you assign homework that is too difficult for them. The first two years of medical school involve memorizing significant chunks of information. Essentially, the first two years of medical school are a crash course in learning and retaining the information these students will use later in their career. You are expected to give them the information they need without asking them to analyze the information. As the teacher, you will be providing most answers to the questions and situations that emerge. In their third year, students will learn about ambiguity, i.e., sometimes there is no right or wrong answer to a medical situation. These students can be expected to have better analytical skills and abilities. As students progress, demand more from them. Do not demand too much early in the process.
Use Interactive Methods
Medical students eventually tire of lectures day after day and welcome hands-on practice. Interactive methods of teaching are vital in medical school. Depending on your unit of study and focus, these methods can range from diagrams and charts (enable students to visualize information more effectively) to skeletons to examine. For example, if you are discussing broken bones and mend them, a model of a skeleton with a few broken bones can be an excellent visual and tactile tool. You also can make your own interactive tools. You can take a piece of bone and wrap it in cloth stuffed with meat to make gritty hands on a model of a leg. Give one to each student and give them a chance to try to break the bone inside so they can see how easy or difficult it can be to break a bone. Opportunities are only limited by your imagination and resources.
Oral Presentations
One optimal way to test your students and gauge their knowledge is through oral presentations. Try these later in their medical school courses, when they have the mental knowledge and agility to answer the most difficult questions. Give each student a medical case. Give her the symptoms, the patient's history, and the behavior of the patient. Each student should then have an hour to diagnose the patient and orally explain the problem and their treatment methods. Listen to how they present their case. Pay close attention to details of why they came to their conclusion and why they chose their treatment methods. The tone of voice should indicate their confidence. An unconfident student will falter and stutter, and this can indicate guesswork instead of solid diagnosis. Each student will quickly reveal their abilities and knowledge in an oral presentation.
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