Models for Medical Education in Clinical Settings

Abstract

Learning and teaching in clinical settings, whether these are more or less formal, are a fundamental task in the healthcare professions. These environments foster the establishment of teaching and learning relationships among healthcare workers and undergraduate and postgraduate students. The opportunities for learning in clinical spaces are much more diverse and realistic than those found in texts, classrooms, or digital tools, and the real experience of clinical learning at the bedside is not comparable to any of these learning sources. Moreover, certain practical maneuvers, even if they seem simple (obtaining a venous blood sample), can only be effectively taught in a clinical environment. In this paper, we review some general principles of education in clinical settings: the identification of student’s needs, teaching with an appropriate model, and providing feedback accordingly. Implementing systematic methodologies with enough validity evidence for teaching in clinical context allows for more complete and uniform guidance and feedback among students rotating in different clinical environments. We discuss some of the most frequently used models for teaching in clinical settings: BEDSIDE, SNAPPS, IDEA, and the one-minute preceptor. We concisely present their methodology, application context, validity evidence, and limitations.