Sweet Misery

Feb 28 2020

Today we presented our teaching activity to our fellow clerks on selectives. The topic I chose for my teaching session was Hyperglycemic Crises, reviewing the presentations, laboratory findings, and management of DKA and HSS. For the session, I wanted to use some of the strategies I had learned while doing the Student as Teachers program in second year medical school, as well as incorporate some new strategies I had learned from preceptors.

• Case-based: I have always enjoyed lectures and seminars with cases and thus wanted to make my teaching session case-based.  I find that case-based learning not only allows you to think critically through a case and build your knowledge, but also really engages the learners.
• Probing rationale: In a training session for an upcoming teaching activity I am involved in, we learned about probing the rationale of learners. When a learner gives an answer, it is useful to ask why they gave that answer., probing them further. This can help deepen their understanding and lead to further discussions.
• What if questions: In discussing my teaching project with Dr. C, he also suggested using "what if" questions to present variations on a case, encourage students to think differently, and enhance learning.

Overall, I think the teaching session today went well. The learners said that they enjoyed the interactive nature of the session, and the variations on the case helped solidify their learning. From the feedback of the learners and staff observing us, I also learned many strategies on how to improve my teaching for the future.

• I want to limit the amount of information I have on a slide. Learners can sometimes focus on reading the text on the slide, rather than listen to you talk. Instead, I will focus on just the key information on the slide, expanding more when I talk.
• In general, I will avoid covering too much material in a teaching session. I have the tendency to want to cover as many learning points, however this can lead to information overload for the learner.
• I also want to work on even further engaging learners during a talk. In small group sessions, if the learners are talking more than the teacher, that is often a good sign. I learned about other strategies that can be used to engage learners, such as online polling/answering tools.

I also saw the value that clinical experience adds to being an effective teacher. When building my teaching session, I referenced guidelines and resources such as UptoDate for information regarding presentation and management plans. However, in discussing with the staff, we learned how the guidelines sometimes differ from clinical practice. For example, although guidelines state to treat hypokalemia in DKA once the potassium level is less than 3.3 mmol/L, the staff explained that they would often start oral and IV potassium supplementation along with insulin once the potassium is below 4.0 mmol/L. Being able to have the perspective of experienced staff helped to enhance my understanding, and highlighted the differences between guidelines and practice.

I really enjoyed this teaching experience! It allowed me to try out some new teaching strategies, as well as learn ways to improve in the future. I want to be involved in teaching and medical education in my future career and look forward to improving my teaching skills as I move along in my training.

-MB-