Doctors' Stories on Teaching and Mentoring

Download or read book Doctors' Stories on Teaching and Mentoring written by Richard H. Dollase and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 38 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pamphlet presents the thoughts of six physician mentors in family practice and their third-year medical students, as they reflect on their practice and on their teaching or learning of clinical skills. An examination of the role of the family-practice physician as mentor may help teacher educators and cooperating teachers gain a valuable perspective on the common tasks and challenges that these two caring professions face in preparing the next generation of their members. The pamphlet analyzes the mentor's role in terms of: (1) the mentor's philosophy of care and how the mentor communicates his or her vision to students; (2) the nature of the physician's teaching and mentoring, particularly in regard to how the physician gives "bad news" and deals with difficult patients; and (3) helping prepare the newcomer to tolerate uncertainty and to reflect more critically on the daily experiences of medical practice. Lessons for teacher education are discussed, emphasizing that: competent cooperating teachers, like good medical mentors, are dedicated professionals who follow best practice and provide continual support and increasing autonomy to their students; cooperating teachers must make more explicit the model of problem solving and decision making they employ; and cooperating teachers need to develop ways to promote student teachers' critical reflection. (JDD)