Coproducing the Learning Environment: Lessons Learned from a Year of Near-Peer Teaching

PURPOSE: Few medical schools offer electives with the goal of teaching medical students to be effective teachers prior to residency. We developed a novel year-long, longitudinal course, the Clinical Teaching Elective (CTE), that develops fourth-year medical students as student teachers within Clinical Skills (CS). APPROACH/METHODS: The elective was designed by Clinical Skills (CS) Course Directors and two fourth-year medical students (M4) as a longitudinal elective. The elective involves teaching in the Simulation Center where M4 student instructors teach first and second-year medical students. Each session, in addition to simulated patient case topics, emphasizes application of a key topic within medical education (ie clinical reasoning, reflective practice, dual process reasoning). DISCUSSION: 1. Teaching is not about the destination, but rather the diagnostic journey. 2. Students thrive when learning is co-produced. 3. A little bit of praise goes a long way. 4. You can't please every learner. 5. When students struggle, there is more to teach than just the answer. 6. Facilitating learner independent thinking promotes future autonomy. SIGNIFICANCE: A novel CTE for fourth-year medical students that emphasizes medical education pedagogy prepares students to serve as educators in residency. The CTE provides an opportunity for medical students to develop into effective clinical educators prior to residency. The focus of our elective on medical education pedagogy furthers medical student understanding of adult learning theory and fosters professional development in teaching clinical reasoning.