This article is part of our Proud to Teach initiative to enhance the recognition and value of teaching across the Faculty of Medicine in classrooms, research laboratories and clinical settings. This initiative is guided by the office of the Vice-Dean, Education.
By Fr茅d茅rique Mazerolle
The Department of Family Medicine has been working to deliver excellence in teaching and learning not only for student and residents, but also to academic staff through continuing medical education and faculty development. To this end, for the first time this fall, physicians enrolled as preceptors in the Longitudinal Family Medicine Experience (LFME) course will benefit from an online distance blended program of their own, the Preceptor Learning Program (PLP), to help them become better clinical educators.
Largely based on modules created for the purpose of the Faculty Development Curriculum for physicians holding academic appointments in the Department of Family Medicine, the PLP aims to provide LFME preceptors with the tools and resources to help them supervise and educate first year medical students.
鈥淣ot all preceptors are necessarily familiar with the notions being taught in the Faculty Development Curriculum, as these resources may not be available to them without already having academic positions,鈥� explains Dr. Tamara Carver, Assistant Professor in Family Medicine and Education Lead of the Family Medicine Innovations in Learning (FMIL) program.
The FMIL and Faculty Development divisions tailored a 5-module online course designed for preceptors, offering insights on the place of the LFME course in the MDCM curriculum, as well as learning sessions on patient safety, the fundamentals of the teacher-learner relationship and giving constructive feedback to students.
鈥淭he course provides tools for common difficult areas in teaching, such as creating the optimal learning environment, providing feedback, and establishing the teacher-learner role,鈥� adds Dr. Katia Faustini, LFME Assistant Course Director. 鈥淭he content offered to preceptors will make them feel more comfortable dealing with these topics and hopefully enhance their interactions with the students.鈥�
Many people from the Department of Family Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine have contributed to the project, including Dr. Audrey Juras, former Director of Faculty Development and lead content developer, Dr. Goldie Marmor, Undergraduate Program Director in Family Medicine and formerly the LFME Course Director, Dr. Namta Gupta, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs, Undergraduate Medical Education and Dr. Miriam Boillat, Associate Dean, Faculty Development.
Throughout the academic year, all preceptors are paired with two first-year medical students for a period of seven weeks each. Despite the differences in work environments and areas where the preceptors are practicing, all parties hope this course will help garner a stronger sense of belonging to the 捆绑SM社区 wider community.
鈥淲e not only believe this course will be capable of making preceptors more skilled and confident in their teaching, but we also hope to create a connection between members of the incoming cohort,鈥� concludes Dr. Carver.