Clinicians who teach

Clinical teachers are at thecentre of education for thehealth professions. They are

the clinicians who teach, ratherthan the teachers who are clini-cians. This journal – named forthe clinical teacher – is intendedto support them in their role. Thatis its purpose.

I hope that’s an unambiguousenough start to my first editorialas Editor in Chief of The ClinicalTeacher. I’m delighted to havebeen appointed to the role, and Iintend to take full advantage ofthe opportunity to support, en-hance and further develop therole of clinical teachers interna-tionally.

In order for clinical teachersto find their eponymous journal tobe of use, we need to agree onwho the clinical teacher actuallyis and what he or she does. It’swell understood that the clinicalteacher has multiple and complexroles. Writing from Dundee in2000, Ronald Harden and JoyCrosby described six separateroles for medical teachers, each

further divided into two separateroles.1 The three that most ap-plied to clinical teachers were‘information provider’, ‘role mod-el’ and ‘facilitator’, whereas themore pedagogic roles of ‘assessor’,‘planner’ and ‘resource developer’were the business of medicaleducation experts.

This is only part of the story:the roles of clinical teachers andtheir relationships with learnersare much more complex than that.A vital role that is not wellcaptured by this model is that ofthe clinical teacher as vocationalsupervisor – although it’s possiblyimplied in the ‘facilitator’ role.The clinical teacher is frequentlycast in the role of the learner’semployer, responsible for theoutcomes of their work. Currenttrends aside, it is difficult not toconsider this as a master–apprentice relationship, in whichthe master is effectively account-able for the apprentice’s perfor-mance. Here, the clinical teacherhas to balance the best interestsof their learner with those of theirpatient. When things are going

well, both can be accommodated,and learning occurs apace. But ifthings get difficult, the clinicianalways has to choose in favour ofbest patient outcomes. This is animportant professional develop-ment issue for medical students –the realisation that patient carewill always take priority over theirclinical education. The reallyskilled clinical teacher, of course,is able to find the balance point,and maintain an environment thatis safe and effective for bothlearning and patient care. Theclinical teacher is an advocate forboth their students and theirpatients.

In most university courses, it’sall about the student. In medicaland other health science courses,students are being prepared for acareer, and there are many otherstakeholders with an interest intheir performance. With patientcontact as the most importantaspect of medical education,the clinical teacher is very muchthe nexus between the student’stheoretical knowledge and theiropportunity to apply it.

Editorial

� Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 1–2 1

So, what can The ClinicalTeacher do to help clinicians withthis role? It’s clear that clinicalteachers are interested in under-standing more about their educa-tional role, especially when thatknowledge is presented in apractical and easily assimilatedmanner. The journal was con-ceived in an enduring partnershipbetween the Association for theStudy of Medical Education(ASME) and Wiley-Blackwell some5 years ago. Its safe delivery andformative years were in the ex-tremely capable hands of Profes-sor John Spencer, and it is now anenthusiastic and energetic ado-lescent, ready to go out into theworld to make a difference. As thesibling journal of Medical

Education (the leading inter-national publication in this field),The Clinical Teacher is well placedto bring the leading edge ofeducational research to cliniciansin the most accessible form (alongwith observations and reflectionsfrom clinical teachers around theworld). Our newly developed net-work of regional editors shouldensure that the articles we carryare relevant to clinical teachers inwhichever country they practise.

If you’re a researcher with aninsight that could directly impacton the work of clinical teachers,or a clinician who’s noticed aparticularly effective way ofteaching, please send us anarticle. With your assistance

The Clinical Teacher will continueto grow into an indispensibleresource for all clinicians whoteach (and supervise, advocatefor, and coach) their learners topeak performance.

Steve TrumbleEditor in Chief

REFERENCE

1. Harden RM, Crosby JR. The good tea-

cher is more than a lecturer: the twelve

roles of the teacher. AMEE Education

Guide No. 20. Dundee: Association for

Medical Education in Europe; 2000.

2 � Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2010; 7: 1–2