Lessons From a Near-Peer Junior Doctor Teaching Program in Trauma and Orthopedics

Introduction: A junior doctor teaching program delivered by near-peers can foster collaboration in a less-pressured and conducive learning environment. The aim of this study was to provide an analysis of an orthopedic teaching program in a high-resource environment utilizing readily available tools and resources that are potentially available in most hospitals globally. Methods: This study involved the utilization of an outcome-based learning approach with regular formal feedback. An anonymized Google Forms survey using a 10-point Likert scale was conducted after a 30-week period. The survey tool was sent out to 28 doctors and two senior nurse practitioners who participated in the program either as tutors, learners, or both. A total of 19 out of 30 respondents completed the survey giving a 63% survey completion rate. The setting for this study was the trauma and orthopedics department in a United Kingdom district general hospital. Results: Learners’ confidence in their orthopedic knowledge and skills pre-program had a median response of eight with a mode of seven whereas confidence following engagement on the program improved with a median response of nine and a mode of 10. At an alpha level of 0.05, this observed improvement was statistically significant using the Mann-Whitney U test (p=0.466). Tutors’ perception of the usefulness of the teaching feedback had a median response of nine with a mode of 10. Relevance of the selected topics had a median response of nine and a mode of 10. Inclusion in the teaching program to cater to learner diversity had a median response of nine and a mode of 10. The effectiveness of a blended approach for learning had a median response of nine and a mode of 10. Conclusion: This study has provided evidence of the benefits of a near-peer teaching program. This is especially important in the post-coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic recovery period where easily accessible and well-grounded educational programs will be useful to complement the deanery teachings for trainees. This is important as this may be the main source of formal teaching for non-trainee junior doctors in many hospital settings. Additional research will be needed to further explore the pros and cons of such programs within a surgical specialty like orthopedics with an emphasis on the various pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning for junior doctors working in a busy clinical setting.