Teaching, not preaching

Teaching is a fundamental part of medicine; it is so thoroughly embedded that even the very first etching of the Hippocratic oath includes a larger section on teaching than on medicine. Even more significant is that the word doctor has its origin in the Latin docere, which means “to teach”. However, almost our entire focus in medical school is on the science of medicine; we are never taught about how to teach, despite the fact that even as medical tutors or junior doctors, we are expected to train our future colleagues. In one survey of consultant doctors in Northern Ireland, while most doctors were interested in teaching, only 34% had had any kind of educational training. To achieve this goal, we have to understand how we learn, how to teach in the classroom compared to the ward, and how to practice as students.