Medical interns’ opinion regarding the resident as teacher

Abstract

Introduction: The primary role of the resident in the different educational processes in medicine has been identified in the literature since the last third of the 20th century. According to the study plans, the resident develops three fundamental areas: the health care area, the research area and as an educator. Even though these three aspects are linked, this last area maybe considered to be the basis of the rest, and in the majority of the cases, the one that is least developed.

Objective: The objective is to find out the opinion of the Medical Interns on the teaching function of the Resident.

Method: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectionall study was conducted on Medical Interns of Faculty of Medicine, UNAM (2013 period) through an opinion poll that evaluated the teaching function of the Resident. The survey evaluated the communication, the congruence, teaching aptitude, time dedicated to teaching activities, and the educational performance of the Resident.

Results: The study included 82 Medical Interns with an age range from 22 to 27 years. The teaching aspects, communication, and coherence was considered good in all academic grades.
The teaching aptitude was classified as inadequate, and the time dedicated to teaching activities and educational performance as sufficient. The Medical Interns have less learning perception as the Resident ascends to a higher grade. Residents from the second grade received a higher score, as they have a better teaching aptitude due to the balance between activities.

Conclusions: The present study is a contribution to the recognition of the Medical Resident as a teacher and urges the need to continue research into this area that these pre-graduates and post-graduates require.