Teacher development
What do medical students expect in a teacher? Qamar Kiani, Shifa Umar and Mohammad Iqbal, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan
SUMMARY Background: Medical students prefer some teachers over others within the same medical school or department. The objective of our study was to find out what qualities may allow all teachers to be nearly on a par in terms of student preference. Methods: A single-centre cross-sectional study was conducted among first- to fifth-year medical students. All students were surveyed with a questionnaire to identify the qualities that they would like to see in their medical teachers. Three rounds of survey were
conducted using the Modified Delphi technique in order to obtain the consensus of the students. If more than 85 per cent of the students agreed on a quality, it was considered final. In the final round students were asked to rate the chosen qualities in order of importance. The data were analysed using the statistical software spss 17. Results: A total of 181 students responded to the survey. The qualities identified by medical students were grouped into four major and 11 minor categories. All qualities were ranked according to
importance, as determined by the students. Teaching (158; 88%) and interpersonal (157; 87%) skills were ranked as the most important skills required of a medical teacher, followed by personal (150; 83%) and professional (140; 77%) skills. Administrative skills were deemed the least essential (112; 62%) of the skills sought in a medical educator. Conclusion: Medical students’ preference for one teacher over another is directly correlated with a teacher’s ability to teach, his or her interpersonal skills, as well as personal and professional qualities.
What qualities may allow all teachers to be on a par in terms of student preference?
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Students are the best judges to decide what qualities make their teacher a good one
INTRODUCTION
A
n old adage is that ‘students are sponges; they absorb everything that they see in their teachers’. Students learn of the ways their teachers handle difficult and stressful situations by continuous observation of how they relate to students, colleagues, patients, their own selves, and how they deal with ethical and moral issues.1 The question of ‘what are the qualities of a good medical teacher?’ has been the subject of considerable debate. Medical schools have tended to let students decide as to who may be an excellent or otherwise teacher through surveys and studentvoted teaching awards. There prevails the general belief that teachers can be good or bad.
Most previous studies that have addressed the issue have adopted a philosophical approach or have surveyed opinions from senior faculty members or postgraduate medical students.2–5 In our opinion, students are the
Table 1. Teaching skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Teaching methodology
161 (89%)
20 (11%)
Exam-oriented teaching
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Evidence-based teaching
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Teaching skills
best judges to decide what qualities make their teacher a good one, as the students themselves are on the receiving end as the main focus of the said qualities of a teacher. The students’ division of teachers into the categories of good and less so becomes evident where they are asked to state their preference for a mentor for electives and other curricular activities. We believe that the majority of medical educators themselves saw their own teachers in the same light in their own college days. The objective of our study was to determine the traits that undergraduate medical students expect of their teachers in order to create a benchmark for medical teachers to rise up to the expectations of their students.
Open to questions, and should be able to answer at the student’s level
168 (93%)
13 (7%)
Enthusiastic for teaching
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Develop rapport with students
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Humble – admit if they don’t know
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
METHODS
Good knowledge of subject, not limited to textbooks only
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Interactive with students
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Conceptual teaching
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Encourage ethical thinking
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
The study was conducted in a medical school after approval from its institutional review board. The study comprised a cross-sectional survey conducted among all first- to fifth-year, MBBS students at a single centre.
Stimulate the interests of students
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Encourage students for research
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
158 (87%)
23 (13%)
Commitment to growth
Teaching skills
The Modified Delphi technique was used to obtain the consensus of students. The medical students were first surveyed by a
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questionnaire to identify the qualities that they would like to see in their teachers, irrespective of department, hierarchy or gender.
The majority of the respondents did not identify their gender, so it was excluded from the final analysis.
After the first response, all of the identified qualities were arranged along with the reasoning of their necessity in a second questionnaire, which was then filled out by the same students. When more than 85 per cent of students agreed on an identified quality it was considered final.
In the final round, 34 (19%) students were from first year, 43 (24%) were from second year, 46 (25%) were from third year, 28 (15%) were from fourth year and 30 (17%) were from fifth year of the MBBS. On account of the incompleteness of the response or an evident lack of seriousness, 15 responses were excluded from the first round, 23 from the second round and 11 from the third round.
A final questionnaire was constructed with all of the identified qualities, and this was circulated among the students in order to rank the order of the qualities on a scale of 1 to 4 (1, absolutely essential; 2, important; 3, useful; 4, irrelevant). A research secretary masked the identity and year of students by assigning new serial numbers to each response so as to maintain confidentiality. All available medical students from the medical school were included. Incomplete responses were excluded from the analysis. The data were analysed using statistical software spss 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). The rating of qualities was compared in the form of frequencies, and a comparison of responses between preclinical and clinical students was made with the chi-square test, where p ≤ 0.05.
RESULTS A total of three rounds of the survey were conducted. More than 95 per cent of the students ended up agreeing on the identified qualities, leaving less than 5 per cent who did not. Out of the 430 students surveyed, a total of 245 (57%) responded in the first round. Out of the 408 students in the second round, 217 (53%) responded, and of the 370 students in the final round, 192 (52%) responded.
For the sake of practicality, responses were organised in two broad categories: ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’, where ‘essential’ was the sum of ‘absolutely essential’ and ‘important’, and ‘non-essential’ was the sum of ‘useful’ and ‘irrelevant’.
When more than 85 per cent of students agreed on an identified quality it was considered final
The qualities identified by the students were divided into four major and 11 subcategories, and were ranked according to their importance to the students. Teaching (158; 88%) and interpersonal (157; 87%) skills were ranked as the most
Table 2. Interpersonal skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
General skills
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Cooperative
165 (91%)
16 (9%)
Respectful to students
164 (91%)
17 (9%)
Teamwork with students
163 (90%)
18 (10%)
No preferences (religious, ethical, gender)
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Sincere to students
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Approachable and available for students
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Should not make fun of or mock the mistakes of students
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Tolerant to disagreements with students
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
Friendly attitude to students
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Caring
150 (83%)
31 (17%)
Communication skills
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Well prepared on subject
165 (91%)
16 (9%)
Speak loudly and clearly
164 (91%)
17 (9%)
Soft and polite
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Does not send the students to sleep in class
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Good body language and eye contact
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Effective use of teaching aids
153 (85%)
28 (15%)
Good in English language
147 (81%)
34 (19%)
Interpersonal skills
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
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Undergraduate medical students have great expectations of their medical teachers
important skills required of a medical teacher, followed by personal (150; 83%) and professional (140; 77%) skills. Administrative skills were considered to be the least essential (112; 62%) skills required of a medical teacher. The majority of respondents (91; 50%) said that teachers should have no role in relation to the dress code for students (Tables 1–4). No significant difference in opinion was seen between students of preclinical
(first and second) and clinical (third, fourth and fifth) years (Table S1).
DISCUSSION It is usually deemed that undergraduate medical students are less able to make decisions and are always in need of some supervision. Although this may be true for patient management and complex curricular issues, is it true for all aspects of educational development?
Table 3. Personal qualities for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Leadership qualities
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Intelligent
168 (93%)
13 (7%)
Confident
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Expressive
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Influencing
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Organised
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Trustworthy
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
Versatile
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Charismatic
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
Positive outlook
154 (85%)
32 (18%)
Compassionate with students, patients and staff
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Consistent
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Principled
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Optimistic, and should encourage the students about their career
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Good character
158 (87%)
23 (13%)
Modest about his or her achievements
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Ambitious
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Honest
144 (80%)
37 (20%)
Good sense of humour
133 (73%)
48 (27%)
Appearance
138 (76%)
43 (24%)
Well groomed
144 (80%)
37 (20%)
Smiling
132 (73%)
49 (27%)
Personal qualities
150 (83%)
31 (17%)
What are the qualities that make medical teachers ideal for their students? Previously, only the opinions of senior faculty members were considered to be important in order to answer this question. Undergraduate medical students have great expectations of their medical teachers, as they enter the medical profession with the idea of ‘joining a noble profession’. They usually expect that, being doctors and especially teachers of doctors, their mentors should practise very high moral and professional standards in their own lives. We received a number of encouraging comments from students regarding the importance of this matter while conducting this study, with such opportunities to voice their concerns being rare because of the nature of the hierarchy they find themselves in. Very few studies have attempted to answer this question.6–10 McLean surveyed second year students only, in contrast to all of the five years surveyed in the present study. In his study students preferred communication and personal skills compared with teaching, as in the present study.6 Maria et al. surveyed both undergraduate and postgraduate students on preset qualities for teachers as well as student’s perceptions. In their study, students also answered that teachers should have other skills in addition to teaching, as in our findings.7 Ali et al.8 surveyed students and colleagues, whereas Elzubeir et al.9 surveyed undergraduate and postgraduate students and interns on preset qualities, and compared responses among the groups. In both studies participants preferred honesty and competence in teaching skills. The study of Karen et al.10 was primarily focused on the
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Table 4. Professional skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Commitment to excellence
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Dedicated to profession
172 (95%)
9 (5%)
Hard working
166 (92%)
15 (8%)
Show integrity to profession
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Sincere with profession
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Innovative
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Altruistic
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Enjoy teaching and clinical work
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Disciplined
148 (82%)
33 (18%)
Professional knowledge
151 (83%)
30 (17%)
Competent clinician
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Competent in research work
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Up to date in his or her specialty
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
Administrative skills
112 (62%)
69 (38%)
Authoritative
126 (70%)
55 (30%)
Able to keep discipline in class
118 (65%)
61 (34%)
90 (50%)
91 (50%)
140 (77%)
41 (23%)
Encourage students to dress appropriately Professional skills
comparison of student–teacher relationships according to clerkship durations in the clinical years only. The present study is the first and largest study that exclusively surveys undergraduate medical students from both preclinical and clinical years to define and rank the qualities and skills that they would like to see in their teachers. This study has a unique methodology in which the Modified Delphi technique was used to pool the opinion of students, and hence to develop the consensus. Students were not provided with pre-identified qualities as in the majority of previous studies. This method stimulates the thinking process by using original knowledge and experience. This study underlines
the fact that medical students critically observe their teachers in several aspects of life.
comparatively low percentage (62% only) of respondents ranked them as essential, implying that a large number of students like a more friendly environment in class. Results of the present study can be summarised in a single phrase: role model. The medical teacher should be a role model for his or her students, as students observe not merely what their teachers teach, they also view how their teachers behave as a whole.
In many faculty development programmes, teaching skills are considered the only requirement for a successful medical teacher
This study offers guidelines for medical professionals who want to make a career out of medical education. It has shown that medical teaching is not only the delivery of knowledge, it also spans the training and development of medical students on a personal level in order for them to become knowledgeable, skillful and empathetic practitioners valued by their profession and the communities they serve. In conclusion, medical students’ expectations are for teaching staff to be role models in such diverse facets as teaching, interpersonal, personal and professional skills. REFERENCES
In many faculty development programmes, teaching skills are considered the only requirement for a successful medical teacher, hence these sessions are mostly organised to improve those skills. The results of this study have shown that students like to see their teachers at a much higher level than just as a ‘teacher’. As one can see from the results, the majority of students believed that the qualities identified by themselves were a necessity to exemplify good teachers, and this agreement was uniform for all qualities except for administrative skills, where a
1. Samy AA. The qualities of a good teacher: how can they be acquired and sustained? J R Soc Med 2005; 98:67–69. 2. Sutkin G, Wagner E, Harris I, Schiffer R. What makes a good clinical teacher in medicine? A review of the literature. Acad Med 2008;83:452–466. 3. Duvivier RJ, van Dalen J, van der Vleuten CP, Scherpbier AJ. Teacher perceptions of desired qualities, competencies and strategies for clinical skills teachers. Med Teach 2009;31:634–641. 4. Wendy JM. ‘Then you get a teacher’—guidelines for excellence in teaching. Med Teach 2007; 29:e209–e218. 5. Thea CMR, Fred T, Albert JJAS, Ben JB, Herman JB. Teachers’ ideas
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The medical teacher should be a role model for his or her students
versus experts’ descriptions of ‘the good teacher’ in postgraduate medical education: implications for implementation. A qualitative study. BMC Med Educ 2011;11:42. 6. McLean M. Qualities attributed to an ideal educator by medical students: should faculty take cognizance? Med Teach 2001;23:367–370. 7. Maria TH, Massimiliano T. What medical students value from their teachers. Aust Health Rev 2007;31:358–361. 8. Ali AH, Mohammad RS. Medical student and academic staff
perceptions of role models: an analytical cross-sectional study. BMC Med Educ 2006;6:9. 9. Elzubeir MA, Rizk DEE. Identifying characteristics that students, interns and residents look for in their role models. Med Educ 2001;35:272–277. 10. Karen EH, Bridget CO, Lori AH, David H, Iris HM, Barbara O, Ann NP, Erik KA, Arianne T. More Is Better: Students Describe Successful and Unsuccessful Experiences With Teachers Differently in Brief and Longitudinal
Relationships. Acad Med 2012;87: 1389–1396.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/tct.12109/suppinfo Table S1. Comparison of response between students from pre- clinical and clinical years.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Qamar H. Kiani, Department of Surgery, Shifa College of Medicine, Sector H–8/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: Shifa College of Medicine. Conflict of interest: None to declare. Ethical approval: The study was approved by the IRB and Ethics Committee at Shifa College of Medicine. doi: 10.1111/tct.12109
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What do medical students expect in a teacher? Qamar Kiani, Shifa Umar and Mohammad Iqbal, Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan
SUMMARY Background: Medical students prefer some teachers over others within the same medical school or department. The objective of our study was to find out what qualities may allow all teachers to be nearly on a par in terms of student preference. Methods: A single-centre cross-sectional study was conducted among first- to fifth-year medical students. All students were surveyed with a questionnaire to identify the qualities that they would like to see in their medical teachers. Three rounds of survey were
conducted using the Modified Delphi technique in order to obtain the consensus of the students. If more than 85 per cent of the students agreed on a quality, it was considered final. In the final round students were asked to rate the chosen qualities in order of importance. The data were analysed using the statistical software spss 17. Results: A total of 181 students responded to the survey. The qualities identified by medical students were grouped into four major and 11 minor categories. All qualities were ranked according to
importance, as determined by the students. Teaching (158; 88%) and interpersonal (157; 87%) skills were ranked as the most important skills required of a medical teacher, followed by personal (150; 83%) and professional (140; 77%) skills. Administrative skills were deemed the least essential (112; 62%) of the skills sought in a medical educator. Conclusion: Medical students’ preference for one teacher over another is directly correlated with a teacher’s ability to teach, his or her interpersonal skills, as well as personal and professional qualities.
What qualities may allow all teachers to be on a par in terms of student preference?
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 203–208 203
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Students are the best judges to decide what qualities make their teacher a good one
INTRODUCTION
A
n old adage is that ‘students are sponges; they absorb everything that they see in their teachers’. Students learn of the ways their teachers handle difficult and stressful situations by continuous observation of how they relate to students, colleagues, patients, their own selves, and how they deal with ethical and moral issues.1 The question of ‘what are the qualities of a good medical teacher?’ has been the subject of considerable debate. Medical schools have tended to let students decide as to who may be an excellent or otherwise teacher through surveys and studentvoted teaching awards. There prevails the general belief that teachers can be good or bad.
Most previous studies that have addressed the issue have adopted a philosophical approach or have surveyed opinions from senior faculty members or postgraduate medical students.2–5 In our opinion, students are the
Table 1. Teaching skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Teaching methodology
161 (89%)
20 (11%)
Exam-oriented teaching
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Evidence-based teaching
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Teaching skills
best judges to decide what qualities make their teacher a good one, as the students themselves are on the receiving end as the main focus of the said qualities of a teacher. The students’ division of teachers into the categories of good and less so becomes evident where they are asked to state their preference for a mentor for electives and other curricular activities. We believe that the majority of medical educators themselves saw their own teachers in the same light in their own college days. The objective of our study was to determine the traits that undergraduate medical students expect of their teachers in order to create a benchmark for medical teachers to rise up to the expectations of their students.
Open to questions, and should be able to answer at the student’s level
168 (93%)
13 (7%)
Enthusiastic for teaching
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Develop rapport with students
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Humble – admit if they don’t know
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
METHODS
Good knowledge of subject, not limited to textbooks only
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Interactive with students
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Conceptual teaching
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Encourage ethical thinking
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
The study was conducted in a medical school after approval from its institutional review board. The study comprised a cross-sectional survey conducted among all first- to fifth-year, MBBS students at a single centre.
Stimulate the interests of students
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Encourage students for research
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
158 (87%)
23 (13%)
Commitment to growth
Teaching skills
The Modified Delphi technique was used to obtain the consensus of students. The medical students were first surveyed by a
204 © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2014; 11: 203–208
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questionnaire to identify the qualities that they would like to see in their teachers, irrespective of department, hierarchy or gender.
The majority of the respondents did not identify their gender, so it was excluded from the final analysis.
After the first response, all of the identified qualities were arranged along with the reasoning of their necessity in a second questionnaire, which was then filled out by the same students. When more than 85 per cent of students agreed on an identified quality it was considered final.
In the final round, 34 (19%) students were from first year, 43 (24%) were from second year, 46 (25%) were from third year, 28 (15%) were from fourth year and 30 (17%) were from fifth year of the MBBS. On account of the incompleteness of the response or an evident lack of seriousness, 15 responses were excluded from the first round, 23 from the second round and 11 from the third round.
A final questionnaire was constructed with all of the identified qualities, and this was circulated among the students in order to rank the order of the qualities on a scale of 1 to 4 (1, absolutely essential; 2, important; 3, useful; 4, irrelevant). A research secretary masked the identity and year of students by assigning new serial numbers to each response so as to maintain confidentiality. All available medical students from the medical school were included. Incomplete responses were excluded from the analysis. The data were analysed using statistical software spss 17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). The rating of qualities was compared in the form of frequencies, and a comparison of responses between preclinical and clinical students was made with the chi-square test, where p ≤ 0.05.
RESULTS A total of three rounds of the survey were conducted. More than 95 per cent of the students ended up agreeing on the identified qualities, leaving less than 5 per cent who did not. Out of the 430 students surveyed, a total of 245 (57%) responded in the first round. Out of the 408 students in the second round, 217 (53%) responded, and of the 370 students in the final round, 192 (52%) responded.
For the sake of practicality, responses were organised in two broad categories: ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’, where ‘essential’ was the sum of ‘absolutely essential’ and ‘important’, and ‘non-essential’ was the sum of ‘useful’ and ‘irrelevant’.
When more than 85 per cent of students agreed on an identified quality it was considered final
The qualities identified by the students were divided into four major and 11 subcategories, and were ranked according to their importance to the students. Teaching (158; 88%) and interpersonal (157; 87%) skills were ranked as the most
Table 2. Interpersonal skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
General skills
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Cooperative
165 (91%)
16 (9%)
Respectful to students
164 (91%)
17 (9%)
Teamwork with students
163 (90%)
18 (10%)
No preferences (religious, ethical, gender)
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Sincere to students
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Approachable and available for students
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Should not make fun of or mock the mistakes of students
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Tolerant to disagreements with students
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
Friendly attitude to students
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Caring
150 (83%)
31 (17%)
Communication skills
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Well prepared on subject
165 (91%)
16 (9%)
Speak loudly and clearly
164 (91%)
17 (9%)
Soft and polite
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
Does not send the students to sleep in class
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Good body language and eye contact
155 (86%)
26 (14%)
Effective use of teaching aids
153 (85%)
28 (15%)
Good in English language
147 (81%)
34 (19%)
Interpersonal skills
157 (87%)
24 (13%)
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Undergraduate medical students have great expectations of their medical teachers
important skills required of a medical teacher, followed by personal (150; 83%) and professional (140; 77%) skills. Administrative skills were considered to be the least essential (112; 62%) skills required of a medical teacher. The majority of respondents (91; 50%) said that teachers should have no role in relation to the dress code for students (Tables 1–4). No significant difference in opinion was seen between students of preclinical
(first and second) and clinical (third, fourth and fifth) years (Table S1).
DISCUSSION It is usually deemed that undergraduate medical students are less able to make decisions and are always in need of some supervision. Although this may be true for patient management and complex curricular issues, is it true for all aspects of educational development?
Table 3. Personal qualities for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Leadership qualities
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Intelligent
168 (93%)
13 (7%)
Confident
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Expressive
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Influencing
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Organised
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Trustworthy
156 (86%)
25 (14%)
Versatile
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Charismatic
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
Positive outlook
154 (85%)
32 (18%)
Compassionate with students, patients and staff
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Consistent
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Principled
162 (90%)
19 (10%)
Optimistic, and should encourage the students about their career
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Good character
158 (87%)
23 (13%)
Modest about his or her achievements
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Ambitious
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Honest
144 (80%)
37 (20%)
Good sense of humour
133 (73%)
48 (27%)
Appearance
138 (76%)
43 (24%)
Well groomed
144 (80%)
37 (20%)
Smiling
132 (73%)
49 (27%)
Personal qualities
150 (83%)
31 (17%)
What are the qualities that make medical teachers ideal for their students? Previously, only the opinions of senior faculty members were considered to be important in order to answer this question. Undergraduate medical students have great expectations of their medical teachers, as they enter the medical profession with the idea of ‘joining a noble profession’. They usually expect that, being doctors and especially teachers of doctors, their mentors should practise very high moral and professional standards in their own lives. We received a number of encouraging comments from students regarding the importance of this matter while conducting this study, with such opportunities to voice their concerns being rare because of the nature of the hierarchy they find themselves in. Very few studies have attempted to answer this question.6–10 McLean surveyed second year students only, in contrast to all of the five years surveyed in the present study. In his study students preferred communication and personal skills compared with teaching, as in the present study.6 Maria et al. surveyed both undergraduate and postgraduate students on preset qualities for teachers as well as student’s perceptions. In their study, students also answered that teachers should have other skills in addition to teaching, as in our findings.7 Ali et al.8 surveyed students and colleagues, whereas Elzubeir et al.9 surveyed undergraduate and postgraduate students and interns on preset qualities, and compared responses among the groups. In both studies participants preferred honesty and competence in teaching skills. The study of Karen et al.10 was primarily focused on the
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Table 4. Professional skills for a medical teacher, identified by medical students Qualities
Response (n = 181) Essential n (%)
Non-essential n (%)
Commitment to excellence
159 (88%)
22 (12%)
Dedicated to profession
172 (95%)
9 (5%)
Hard working
166 (92%)
15 (8%)
Show integrity to profession
162 (90%)
29 (16%)
Sincere with profession
160 (88%)
21 (12%)
Innovative
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Altruistic
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Enjoy teaching and clinical work
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Disciplined
148 (82%)
33 (18%)
Professional knowledge
151 (83%)
30 (17%)
Competent clinician
154 (85%)
27 (15%)
Competent in research work
152 (84%)
29 (16%)
Up to date in his or her specialty
146 (81%)
35 (19%)
Administrative skills
112 (62%)
69 (38%)
Authoritative
126 (70%)
55 (30%)
Able to keep discipline in class
118 (65%)
61 (34%)
90 (50%)
91 (50%)
140 (77%)
41 (23%)
Encourage students to dress appropriately Professional skills
comparison of student–teacher relationships according to clerkship durations in the clinical years only. The present study is the first and largest study that exclusively surveys undergraduate medical students from both preclinical and clinical years to define and rank the qualities and skills that they would like to see in their teachers. This study has a unique methodology in which the Modified Delphi technique was used to pool the opinion of students, and hence to develop the consensus. Students were not provided with pre-identified qualities as in the majority of previous studies. This method stimulates the thinking process by using original knowledge and experience. This study underlines
the fact that medical students critically observe their teachers in several aspects of life.
comparatively low percentage (62% only) of respondents ranked them as essential, implying that a large number of students like a more friendly environment in class. Results of the present study can be summarised in a single phrase: role model. The medical teacher should be a role model for his or her students, as students observe not merely what their teachers teach, they also view how their teachers behave as a whole.
In many faculty development programmes, teaching skills are considered the only requirement for a successful medical teacher
This study offers guidelines for medical professionals who want to make a career out of medical education. It has shown that medical teaching is not only the delivery of knowledge, it also spans the training and development of medical students on a personal level in order for them to become knowledgeable, skillful and empathetic practitioners valued by their profession and the communities they serve. In conclusion, medical students’ expectations are for teaching staff to be role models in such diverse facets as teaching, interpersonal, personal and professional skills. REFERENCES
In many faculty development programmes, teaching skills are considered the only requirement for a successful medical teacher, hence these sessions are mostly organised to improve those skills. The results of this study have shown that students like to see their teachers at a much higher level than just as a ‘teacher’. As one can see from the results, the majority of students believed that the qualities identified by themselves were a necessity to exemplify good teachers, and this agreement was uniform for all qualities except for administrative skills, where a
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versus experts’ descriptions of ‘the good teacher’ in postgraduate medical education: implications for implementation. A qualitative study. BMC Med Educ 2011;11:42. 6. McLean M. Qualities attributed to an ideal educator by medical students: should faculty take cognizance? Med Teach 2001;23:367–370. 7. Maria TH, Massimiliano T. What medical students value from their teachers. Aust Health Rev 2007;31:358–361. 8. Ali AH, Mohammad RS. Medical student and academic staff
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ doi/10.1111/tct.12109/suppinfo Table S1. Comparison of response between students from pre- clinical and clinical years.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Qamar H. Kiani, Department of Surgery, Shifa College of Medicine, Sector H–8/4, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: Shifa College of Medicine. Conflict of interest: None to declare. Ethical approval: The study was approved by the IRB and Ethics Committee at Shifa College of Medicine. doi: 10.1111/tct.12109
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