A Review of Medical School Programs That Train Medical Students as Teachers (MED-SATS)

• Published in: Teaching and learning in medicine Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 73 - 81
• Main Authors: Pasquinelli, Lawrence, Greenberg, Larrie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis 01-01-2008
• Subjects: Databases as Topic; Education, Medical, Undergraduate; Faculty, Medical; Humans; Program Evaluation; Schools, Medical - organization & administration; Students, Medical; Teaching; United States; United States
• ISSN: 1040-1334; 1532-8015
• DOI: 10.1080/10401330701798337

Background: Medical students represent medicine's future teachers. The objective of this literature review was to identify programs teaching medical students how to teach (MED-SATS). Summary: Electronic searches were conducted and identified 39 programs (1966-2005). Students have assumed varied teaching roles: group facilitator, standardized patient, tutor, teaching assistant, standardized learner, course director, and peer teacher. Most participants were 4th-year students. The teaching techniques varied: group sessions, lectures, and individual teaching. To evaluate student teaching, programs used checklists, videotape review, group discussion, observation, examination scores, course grades, self-assessment exercises, and follow-up with residency training programs. Conclusions: Reports on how students are trained in medical schools to be teachers are limited. Of the programs identified, it is difficult to determine which programs are ongoing. Data on MED-SATS graduates teaching skills as resident and attending teachers are lacking. These issues present some challenges for future study.