BACKGROUND: Physicians have a scholarly role, including educating others, be it patients, colleagues or students. This led UMC Utrecht to organize a one-week obligatory teacher training course for senior medical students and a six-week elective teaching rotation. Students who complete both may receive a student teaching qualification. They must show didactic skill, have experience with teaching and learn about medical education topics. METHOD: Between October 2004 and December 2006 60 students (about 10% of all final-year students) took the six-week rotation. Rotating students are attached to a 4-6 week undergraduate curriculum unit. The rotation includes 30 hours of independent teaching of junior medical students, studying the BMJ 's ABC of Learning and Teaching series and sitting a written exam on it, constructing 14 test questions, completing an advisory project for the unit coordinator and writing an essay on a medical education topic of choice. CONCLUSIONS: The senior students appear to attain the objectives of the rotation and evaluate it positively. The coordinating teacher-supervisors and the younger students are all generally satisfied to very satisfied with the student teachers. The curriculum benefits from the advisory projects and most essays are so well written that a selection is published as a booklet presented for teachers. These graduates start their career with a teaching qualification.