BMJ  2008;336:718-721 (29 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39503.757847.BE

Practice

Teaching Rounds

Role modelling—making the most of a powerful teaching strategy

Sylvia R Cruess, professor of medicine, Richard L Cruess, professor of surgery, Yvonne Steinert, professor of family medicine

1 Centre for Medical Education, McGill University, 1110 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 1A3

Correspondence to: S R Cruess sylvia.cruess@mcgill.ca

Teachers need to be aware of the conscious and unconscious components of learning from role modelling, so that the net effect of the process is positive

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


Role modelling is a powerful teaching tool for passing on the knowledge, skills, and values of the medical profession, but its net effect on the behaviour of students is often negative rather than positive
By analysing their own performance as role models, individuals can improve their personal performance
Strategies are available to help doctors become better role models:
  • Being aware of the impact of what we are modelling (be it positive or negative)
  • Protecting time to facilitate dialogue, reflection, and debriefing with students
  • Making a conscious effort to articulate what we are modelling, and to make the implicit explicit


Educating future generations of physicians is one of the privileges and obligations of the medical profession. As an important part of this process, doctors historically have patterned their activities on those of practitioners whom they respect and trust. These have been called role models, "individuals admired for their ways of being . . . [Full text of this article]


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