This research study was considered by the Institutional Review Board for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on February 7th, 2018 (IRB #217738), and deemed exempt as it fell within the normal scope of resident education and faculty development. In addition, all research surveys were conducted anonymously and determined to pose no risk to participants. The research was conducted from March 28, 2018, through April 11, 2018, and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Residents (PGY1-PGY4), fellows, and faculty members in the Department of OB/Gyn at UAMS were asked to complete a modified version of a validated self-assessment survey regarding teaching skills and attitudes towards teaching (Table 1). This survey was first published by Grady-Weliky and colleagues in Academic Psychiatry (Grady-Weliky, Chaudron, and Digiovanni, 2010) and a modified version was used with permission from its creator (Dr. Robert Swantz, Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center). The web link to the 10-item, 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was emailed to all participants, and they were asked to answer anonymously. Residents and faculty members then attended a two-hour education seminar entitled “Teaching Now-Teaching” (TNT). One week after completion of the seminar, the same 10-item questionnaire was emailed again to all participants as a post-course suvey.
Table 1 – Self-assessment survey of teaching knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values
Knowledge
|
1 = Strongly Disagree
|
2 = Disagree
|
3 = Neutral
|
4 = Agree
|
5 = Strongly Agree
|
I understand my role teaching students.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
I understand the curriculum.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Skill
|
|
|
|
|
|
I can apply at least two different teaching methods.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
I can describe and evaluate the teaching techniques that I employ.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
I have a plan for improving my teaching skills.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
I can help others become better teachers.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Attitude
|
|
|
|
|
|
I am comfortable teaching students.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
My students would describe my teaching skills as good.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
My peers would describe my teaching skills as good.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
Developing teaching skills is important to professional development.
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
Content for the TNT seminar was derived from the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Effective Preceptor Series (Abbott, Espey, and Emmons, 2013); (Hampton and Forstein, 2014). The course utilized a mixture of PowerPoint slides, video demonstration, role-play, and team activities to teach two different teaching techniques.
The two different teaching techniques taught were the Five-Step Microskills Model of Clinical Teaching and the B.I.D. Model for teaching in the operating room (Abbott, Espey, and Emmons, 2013); (Hampton and Forstein, 2014). The Five-Step Microskills model, also called the one-minute preceptor, was originally described in 1992 by Neher and colleagues. It is useful in settings where learners begin by seeing patients and then seek out the guidance of a preceptor, such as in an ambulatory care setting. The preceptor prompts the learner to make a commitment and support that commitment with evidence. The remainder of the Microskills revolve around teaching a general rule, reinforcing positive portions of the encounter, and correcting learner mistakes (Neher and Stevens, 2003). The Briefing, Intraoperative Teaching, Debriefing (B.I.D.) model, originally described by Roberts et al. in 2009, is used for operating room teaching. This technique focuses on setting learning objectives, providing teaching during the surgical encounter, and then reflecting on what was learned – all in a manner than can be performed during the usual activities that a surgeon performs. For instance, the setting of learning objectives can be performed at the scrub sink, and the reflection can be performed during the closing portion of the procedure (Roberts et al., 2009).
At the completion of the seminar, attendees were given laminated reference cards as a visual reminder of the teaching techniques taught (Figures 1 and 2). Posters displaying the same content as the reference cards were also hung in strategic locations in clinics and on the wards where they could be seen by faculty, fellows, and residents.
Figure 1 - 5 Microskills teaching card

Figure 2 - BID teaching card
