Informal and Formal Peer Teaching in the Medical School Ecosystem: Perspectives From a Student-Teacher Team

These personal views, drawn from the experiences of a medical student and a medical school lecturer, advocate caution of the current trend for formal adoption of peer teaching into medical school curricula. Using a metaphor from physics, we highlight the need for cautious deeper exploration of the informal world of peer-teaching in medical schools, which is a complex part of the educational ecosystem, prior to incorporating such activities into faculty-led initiatives. We support a measured approach to the introduction of compulsory peer-teaching activities given the recognized theoretical and pedagogical benefits.