A study to determine how faculty, residents, and students rate clinical teacher behaviors in the teaching of Geriatrics in medical schools

• Main Author: Williams, Mary P.
• Format: Others
• Published: DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center 1987
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/455; http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2018&context=dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify effective clinical teacher behaviors in geriatrics as perceived by faculty, residents, and medical students; and to determine whether the ratings of these behaviors were influenced by six variables: professional status (faculty, residents, students), medical specialty of the teacher (Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Psychiatry); courses taken in geriatrics; age, race and sex of the respondent. Seven factors of clinical teaching incorporated into the study were instructor knowledge, organization and clarity, group instructional skills, enthusiasm and stimulation, clinical competence, modeling and clinical supervision. An instrument was constructed to measure perceptions of what teacher behaviors should be of those teachers who teach residents and students about caring for elderly patients. In addition, the instrument measured perceptions of how frequent these behaviors were demonstrated. Three hundred fifty three (353) questionnaires were mailed to a sample of a population of clinical teachers, residents and fourth year medical students at the Morehouse School of Medicine and Emory University School of Medicine. Findings from this study showed that professional status, courses taken in geriatrics, and sex of the respondent had significant influence on ratings of how frequent effective teacher behaviors were demonstrated. There was a greater difference in ratings between faculty and students than faculty and residents. No significant difference was found between or among the three groups in their ratings of what should be effective teacher behaviors in geriatric teaching.