Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residents' Experiences and Perspectives on Teaching Medical Students: A National Survey

Resident teaching of medical students is integral to medical education; however, there are few studies surveying residents, especially U.S. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residents, about their perspectives on teaching medical students. This descriptive survey study consisted of a 23-item cross sectional survey to elicit the current state of medical student teaching by PM&R residents and formal education for PM&R residents on teaching medical students. During an eight-week period, 103 PM&R residents completed a web-based survey, which was distributed to residents via emails to PM&R residency program directors and coordinators. Ninety-seven (94.1%) respondents reported teaching medical students. A majority of these respondents (81.4%) reported favoring formalized education on medical student teaching; however, little more than half (51.5%) reported having that education. Majorities of residents with and without formal education on teaching medical students reported employing multiple teaching techniques to teach students in the clinical and non-clinical environments. The most commonly reported barrier to teaching students was time. While limited by study design and sample size, this study suggests that the availability of formalized education for PM&R residents on medical student teaching may not meet the needs or desires of residents.