Beyond the lecture: Teaching for professional development

Abstract

Background. Clinical educators are being challenged to graduate students who can adapt to complex situations. Evidence suggests that one must go beyond teaching students what to know and what to do, and help them learn how to be. Objective. To identify teaching strategies that could be used to help develop students beyond technical proficiency. Methods. This study used a nominal group technique to gather input from clinical educators, requesting them to identify teaching strategies for developing lifelong learning, emphasising the development of students’ knowledge and skills, and taking into account students’ emotional responses to the clinical context. Participant responses were transcribed and analysed thematically. Results. Participants reported that clinical educators should be role-models to students in a process of lifelong learning, including demonstrating the vulnerability of ‘not knowing’. They also suggested integrating a variety of different teaching methods that aim at achieving the same goal. Finally, participants emphasised the importance of intentionally incorporating personal values into reflective learning activities. By creating space for the shared learning experiences of teachers and students, participants highlighted the possibility of helping students to develop the mindset necessary to adapt to complex health systems. Conclusion. Clinical educators emphasised the developmental nature of the teaching and learning process, highlighting the importance of an authentic interaction between students and teachers.