Erie, Andrew Jay

Significant increase in literature regarding “residents as teachers” highlights the importance of providing opportunities and implementing guidelines for continuing medical education and professional growth. Structured teaching assistant (TA) experiences are not uncommon. Programs, both nationally and internationally, have implemented and continue to provide established opportunities for under‐ and post‐ graduate students to develop teaching skills. However, due to the nature of undergraduate medical curricula, there is neither sufficient time nor an abundance of opportunity for medical students to develop teaching skills. The TA program at Mayo Clinic incorporates learning through apprenticeship and mentoring during a 7‐week anatomy block. This study explores the impact of the TA experience and the effectiveness of its facilitation by faculty mentors. Structured questionnaires obtained feedback regarding improvement in teaching and communication skills, as well as, experiences in curriculum development and educational research. Preliminary data revealed that teaching opportunities, mentoring from course faculty, and exposure to educational research and curriculum development improved the TA's ability to teach and fostered an increased interest in teaching. Medical student TA's perceive learning through apprenticeship and mentoring as an effective way to learn how to teach. Grant Funding Source : Department of Anatomy