Family medicine residents’ perspectives on different teaching modalities used throughout their training

BACKGROUND: New teaching modalities have emerged throughout the years to help enhance residency training programs. Studies have shown that when establishing a new teaching modality, it is crucial to consider the trainee’s perception and feedback as trainee-centered teaching techniques aim to enhance the students’ motivations and problem-solving skills. The aim of this study is to discover residents’ perceptions of different teaching modalities used through their training programs and to recognize which teaching modality is preferable to residents among the family medicine residents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2021 and April 2022 that included all family medicine residents in the Saudi Board Family Medicine Training Program at Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC) in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire included two main parts. The first part collected demographic information. The second part concerned residents’ opinions regarding different teaching modalities used throughout their training and factors leading to better learning outcomes. RESULTS: The survey was completed by 60 family medicine residents. Half of the respondents perceived weekly academic day activities [WADA] as the most important teaching style (53.3%), followed by self-directed learning [SDL] (40%), while learning management system [LMS] was not ranked as the top choice by any of the respondents. CONCLUSION: These findings can be applied to the improvement of family medicine training programs. Understanding the perceptions of different teaching modalities can help enhance training programs to help future family medicine practitioners.