Original Article

Are All Teaching Activities Valued the Same? Their Relative Worth Is in the Eye of the Beholder

Authors: Gustavo R. Heudebert, MD, Carlos A. Estrada, MD, MS

Abstract

Objectives: The pressures for generating revenue from clinical activities dissuade clinician-educators from teaching; taking the steps to develop an educational value system is a way to recognize and perhaps support education. We compared the perceived educational value of diverse pedagogical activities during clinical training from students, residents, and faculty in medical and surgical specialties.

Methods: Between 2016 and 2017, a survey among medical students, residents, and faculty from medical (internal medicine, pediatrics) or surgical (general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology) departments was conducted at an academic medical center that sponsors 88 training programs. Participants ranked teaching activities relative to their perceived teaching importance.

Results: In total, 156 subjects participated (48 core teaching faculty, 68 residents, and 40 medical students). Teaching in the wards was the highest-ranked teaching activity for medical (mean 1.6) and surgical specialties (mean 1.9). For medicine and pediatrics, active teaching activities were ranked higher (mean 2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8–3.0) than passive teaching activities (mean 5.3, 95% CI 5.1–5.5, P < 0.001). Similarly, for surgery and obstetrics and gynecology, active teaching activities were ranked higher (mean 3.6, 95% CI 3.3–3.9) than passive teaching activities (mean 5.2, 95% CI 4.8–5.5, P < 0.001).

Conclusions: Medical students, residents, and faculty across specialties have a high degree of agreement regarding the ranking of diverse pedagogical activities; such correlation will facilitate the interpretation of educational value units across specialties.

This content is limited to qualifying members.

Existing members, please login first

If you have an existing account please login now to access this article or view purchase options.

Purchase only this article ($25)

Create a free account, then purchase this article to download or access it online for 24 hours.

Purchase an SMJ online subscription ($75)

Create a free account, then purchase a subscription to get complete access to all articles for a full year.

Purchase a membership plan (fees vary)

Premium members can access all articles plus recieve many more benefits. View all membership plans and benefit packages.

References

1. Yeh M, Cahill D. Quantifying physician teaching productivity using clinical relative value units. J Gen Int Med 1999;14:617-621.
 
2. Stites S, Vansaghi L, Pingleton S, et al. Aligning compensation with education: design and implementation of the educational value unit (EVU) in an academic internal medicine department. Acad Med 2005;:80:1100-1106.
 
3. Clyburn EB, Wood C, Moran W, et al. Valuing the education mission: implementing an educational value unit system. Am J Med 2011;124:567-572.
 
4. Ma OJ, Hedges JR, Newgard C. The academic RVU: ten years developing a metric for and financially incenting academic productivity at Oregon Health & Science University. Acad Med 2017;92:1138-1144.
 
5. Freeman S, Eddy SL, McDonough M, et al. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014;111:8410-8415.
 
6. Kusurkar RA, Croiset G, Mann KV, et al. Have motivation theories guided the development and reform of medical education curricula? A review of the literature. Acad Med 2012;87:735-743.
 
7. Kilgour JM, Grundy L, Monrouxe LV. A rapid review of the factors affecting healthcare students’ satisfaction with small-group, active learning methods. Teach Learn Med 2016;28:15-25.
 
8. Griffith CH 3rd, Wilson JF, Haist SA, et al. Internal medicine clerkship characteristics associated with enhanced student examination performance. Acad Med 2009;84:895-901.
 
9. Jack MC, Kenkare SB, Saville BR, et al. Improving education under work-hours restrictions: comparing learning and teaching preferences of faculty, residents, and students. J Surg Educ 2010;:67:290-296.
 
10. Wolf BR, Britton CL. How orthopaedic residents perceive educational resources. Iowa Orthop J 2013;33:185-190.