Teaching on a ward round

doi:10.1136/bmj.a1930

Published 2 December 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1930
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1930

Practice

Teaching Rounds

Teaching on a ward round

Jean Ker, director of clinical skills¹, Peter Cantillon, senior lecturer², Lucy Ambrose, clinical lecturer in medical education¹

¹ Clinical Skills Centre, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital, Dundee DD1 9SY , ² Department of General Practice, National University of Ireland, Galway peter.cantillon@nuigalway.ie

Correspondence to: J Kerj.s.ker@dundee.ac.uk

A deliberate and planned approach to bedside teaching will makelearning more effective

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

Teaching on a ward round has been compared to walking a tightrope.A clinical teacher has to balance the differing needs of undergraduateand graduate learners while providing a comprehensive and safeclinical service. Teaching in the presence of patients is anadditional tension because the patient plays a central roleand also is the most attentive member of the audience. Wardround teaching remains a powerful teaching context in medicineas it provides an authentic experience of the complexity ofpatient care and professional practice.¹ ² The enduring valueof the ward round lies in its potential to model professionalism,enhance clinical reasoning,³ and demonstrate the cultural normsof medical practice.⁴ ⁵

We have developed six questions that can routinely be usedto plan and deliver effective bedside teaching on ward rounds(fig 1). The questions are derived from empirically based theoriesof experiential and situated learning.⁶ ⁷ ⁸

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Fig 1 Six . . . [Full text of this article]

Medical student
Postgraduate trainees or residents

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