What motivates junior doctors to teach medical students?

Abstract

There is a growing demand for "near peer" teaching in the delivery of medical curriculum. Experienced senior physicians are increasingly more occupied with competing demands on their time and expertise. As a result, junior medical staff (1-4 years after graduation) are taking on more teaching responsibilities. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the motivations of junior doctors to teach medical students. While many studies have dealt with motivations of senior clinicians and specialists in their fields, there is no data on the reasons why the junior doctors teach. 161 junior clinicians teaching at our clinical school completed questionnaires (response rate 90%). Most tutors (41%) were interns (first year after graduation) and over half of them (55%) had completed a formal Teachers Training program. We found the main motivation to teach was to improve their own knowledge (80% strongly agreed) and enjoyment (72% strongly agreed). Other, less powerful motivating factors were: teaching would assist with their academic career (especially the more junior tutors); it was a duty to profession; result of inspiration by their own teachers or mentors; and because they felt responsible for the students. By developing an understanding of junior clinicians' motivation to teach, we may be able to promote a continued interest in teaching amongst both current and new junior medical staff.

Keywords

• Near peer teaching
• Motivation to teach