Teaching skills training for medical students

Background: The UK General Medical Council has recommended that medical students be taught how to teach; however, the current state of teaching skills training in England has not yet been investigated. Aims: To explore the current state of undergraduate teaching skills training at medical schools in England. Methods: A questionnaire survey was sent to all 24 medical schools in England, enquiring about the basic structure, content areas, staffing, delivery and assessment methods of compulsory courses. Results: A response rate of 22/24 (92%) was achieved, and 18/22 (82%) of the responding institutions offered some form of teaching skills training. The most frequently covered content areas were small group facilitation skills, large group teaching skills and use of effective feedback. Teaching was delivered by a combination of hospital doctors, non-physician educators or general practitioner educators in the majority of courses. Six of the nine (67%) compulsory courses featured student assessments. The main barriers to implementing these courses were staffing limitations, insufficient time and lack of student engagement. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates both the similarities and variation between undergraduate teaching skills courses across England. However, further research will be necessary to determine whether the long-term impact of such training will result in better educators, and ultimately in improved patient care.