Use of Fellow as Clinical Teacher (FACT) Curriculum for Teaching During Consultation: Effect on Subspecialty Fellow Teaching Skills.

BACKGROUND

Subspecialty consultation in inpatient care is increasing. Teaching by subspecialty fellows in a consultation setting may be an important source of work-based learning for students and residents. However, teaching and evaluation of learners in this context may be challenging due to personal and systems-based barriers.

OBJECTIVE

We developed and evaluated a framework designed to overcome barriers to teaching and to improve fellow teaching skills during inpatient consultation.

METHODS

The PARTNER (artner with resident, ssess the learner, einforce positives, eaching objectives, ew knowledge, xecute recommendations, eview) framework was delivered to rheumatology and pulmonary and critical care medicine fellows at 3 academic medical centers as part of a 2-session Fellow as Clinical Teacher (FACT) curriculum. Fellows' teaching skills were evaluated using an objective structured teaching exercise (OSTE) pre- and postcurriculum, and at the end of the academic year. Self-assessment surveys were used to evaluate fellows' self-perception of teaching skills.

RESULTS

Twelve of 16 eligible fellows (75%) participated in the program and completed 73 OSTE cases. Teaching skills measured by OSTEs and self-assessment surveys improved after administration of the FACT curriculum. There was no significant skill decay at the end-of-year evaluation. The curriculum was rated highly, and 73% (8 of 11) of fellows stated they would teach more frequently as a result of the intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The FACT curriculum was practical and feasible, and significantly improved fellows' teaching skills teaching during inpatient consultation.