Browsing by Author "Ayodele, Olugbenga Edward"

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    Residents-as-teachers : needs assessment of residents teaching skills in a clinical setting using direct observation of teaching
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Ayodele, Olugbenga Edward; Blitz, Julia; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Centre for Health Professions Education.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Residents teach undergraduate medical students and other health care workers in clinical settings. Despite this pivotal teaching role, the majority of residents have not received formal training in education, and may be adopting ineffective teaching strategies. Some institutions have established residents-as-teachers (RaT) programmes with the aim of improving the teaching competency of residents. However, many of these programmes were put in place without a context-specific needs assessment to identify the existing strengths and deficiencies in the residents’ teaching skills. RaT programmes are rare in sub-Saharan Africa, and do not appear to exist in Nigeria. Successful planning and implementation of such a program will involve judicious commitment of scarce human and material resources, which makes a needs assessment imperative. Aim and Objectives: The aim of the study was to do a needs assessment of residents’ skills in teaching in the clinical setting. The specific objectives were to determine: residents’ self-perceived and true learning needs for facilitating learning in the clinical setting; residents’ self-perceived important topics that could be included in a RaT curriculum; and residents’ preferred methods of instruction for a RaT programme. Methodology: This cross-sectional observational, quantitative inquiry was conducted at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LTH), Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Thirty nine (78%) out of a total population of 50 residents voluntarily agreed to participate in the study. The 39 residents were subsequently divided into two groups on the basis of their willingness to have their clinical teaching sessions observed – those who were willing to be observed (Group A, n=20) and those not willing to be observed (Group B, n=19). Sixty two (85%) out of a total population of 73 medical students in Years 5 and 6 rotating through Internal Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics and Obstetrics & Gynaecology at the hospital agreed to participate in the study. The study instruments consisted of a self-administered questionnaire completed by all residents, and the 24-item, 7-domain Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) [rated on a 5-point Likert scale] completed by the residents, the medical students (recipients of the clinical teaching), and the researcher (who acted as an unobtrusive observer) after the teaching sessions. The residents’ self-perceived learning needs were determined by the teaching actions the fewest residents agreed or strongly agreed that they used during the course of their teaching. The residents’ true learning needs from the students’ and researcher’s perspective were the teaching actions least experienced by the students, and the teaching actions least observed by the researcher respectively during the course of teaching. Discrete data were summarized as percentages, and quantitative data as means (standard deviation [SD]). Differences in discrete and continuous variables were analysed using chi square and student’s t test respectively. All p values ≤ 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: Most residents had never had formal training in teaching, the vast majority indicated that skill development in teaching is very important, and all expressed the desire to be trained in developing their teaching skills. The residents’ self-perceived learning needs based on a self-administered questionnaire were formulation of learning goals (‘exploration’), and guidance given to students to bolster students’ independence (domain of ‘scaffolding’). The residents’ true learning needs based on MCTQ items least observed were demonstration of different tasks (‘modelling’), providing guidance and feedback (‘coaching’), encouraging students to think through their performance, voicing out their strengths and weaknesses (‘reflection’), and formulation of learning goals (‘exploration’). The leading topics perceived by residents to be important for a RaT course were communication skills, leadership, teaching of procedural skills, and bedside teaching; and their preferred methods of instruction were interactive sessions with teachers, and working in small groups with a facilitator. Conclusion: Findings from this study therefore provide important baseline information on the strengths and weaknesses of our residents in facilitating learning in the clinical setting. This needs assessment of residents’ teaching skills will serve to inform the design of a tailor-made RaT course for LAUTECH residents.