Monday, March 5, 2012

Residents as teachers


March 5
by Alison

We spent the morning in the dermatology clinic.  The clinic wasn’t particularly busy and there were a lot of residents, which meant there was plenty of time for teaching.  I have not had much dermatology training in clerkship, so this was a welcome opportunity.  In addition to seeing some patients, we went through the approach to a number of common and important dermatology problems.  We discussed the approach to acne, eczema, and psoriasis, as well as how to counsel patients about sunscreen. 

I really enjoy learning from residents.  While there is always great teaching from attending physicians, residents are often more familiar with our level of knowledge simply because medical school is more recent for them.  As a result, they tend to anticipate our specific questions and provide an appropriate level of detail.  I’ve generally had more teaching from residents on inpatient rotations, as ambulatory rotations often involve residents and clerks seeing patients independently, then reviewing directly with the attending.  The opportunity to work with residents in ambulatory clinics on this rotation has been extremely valuable.   

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