Preceptor-Based Teaching
The teaching cornerstone of each core rotation is the close relationship between the student and the attending physicians and/or residents who serve as preceptors. Students and clinical teachers spend many hours each week in small-group discussions and bedside rounds discussing patients' diagnoses, treatments, and progress.
Discussions revolve around critical review of patient histories, physical examination findings, imaging studies, and laboratory results. Preceptors assess students’ medical knowledge, clinical reasoning, clinical and communication skills, and professional behavior, and serve as role models. Discussions of individual cases integrate related basic science principles, critical thinking, and problem solving. The educational value of the clerkship depends heavily on the quality and quantity of interaction among students, residents, teaching physicians, and patients.
Clinical Faculty Evaluation
Clinical teachers are evaluated regularly by clerkship directors, faculty peers, and students. Clerkship directors evaluate clinical teachers as part of their oversight of the clerkship. Faculty peer evaluation includes input from senior faculty, local knowledge of faculty performance, and written site visit reports prepared by School of Medicine chairs and deans. Student evaluations of faculty are based on the confidential electronic questionnaire completed at the end of each core clerkship. The hospital DME, SGU clinical department chairs, and SGU administration have access to the students’ confidential responses.