What Doctors Don't Tell YouThe quality of the teaching in British hospitals has been criticized in a new report. Consultants and registrars involved in teaching are rarely required to have any formal training and few royal colleges have plans to assess the competence of teach
This alarming situation is set against a major revaluation of postgraduate training. Annual spend is increasing in 1988-9, it was already at £96m and the General Medical Council is conducting a review of basic medical education.
The new report, prepared by the Standing Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education, recommends that trainers should first be taught effective teaching skills, and should provide education that is pertinent to the trainees. Time should also be set aside for study and for contact and feedback between trainee and teacher.
Until and unless the changes are made, training for doctors and dentists will remain unsatisfactory and ineffective, the report concluded.
Teaching Hospital Doctors and Dentists to Teach: Its Role in Creating A Better Learning Environment. (The Standing Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education, 26 Park Crescent, London W1N 3PB)
Daniel Redwood DC
Tom Ferguson MD
