School of Medicine Resident Teaching Skills

Teaching Resident Physicians to Be Educators

BEST Module 2: Orienting Learners

Bringing Education & Service Together (BEST) is an interdisciplinary service learning project for resident physicians.

Learning Objective

By the end of this module, residents will be able to:

  • Orient a medical student or intern to a new rotation.
  • Clarify goals for a session.
  • Explain how learner balances service vs. learning goals.

The ORIENT Approach to a New Rotation

Orientation
  • Clarify mutual goals for this orientation session: what are the learner’s expectations today?
  • Discuss mutual goals and expectations for the rotation.
  • Start with the learner: What does s/he hope to get out of this rotation? Explore learner’s concerns and interests in detail.
  • What are his or her learning goals?
Responsibilities
  • Explain learner’s role in patient care and other teamwork.
  • Format for supervision and teaching.
  • Expectations regarding charting.
  • Where and when learner will receive feedback.
  • Call arrangements.
  • Anything else she or he should know about your particular institution.
Interchange
  • How can the learner best balance service vs. learning goals during the rotation?
Education
  • Model self-directed learning: ask learner to define his or her own learning goals and how s/he can best achieve them.
  • Offer suggestions for reading and learning during the rotation (books, articles, online resources, consultants).
Needs
  • What questions does the learner have?
  • Is there anything else going on that you might help with (e.g., any special needs or concerns)?
Timing of follow-up session
  • Any final questions or comments?
  • When would learner prefer to meet again to follow up on mutual goals for the rotation?