Two-Week Resident-As-Teacher Program May Improve Peer Feedback and Online Evaluation Completion

Objectives Many training programs have implemented Resident-as-Teacher curricula. Previous evaluations of such programs have largely focused on direct, often self-assessed benefits to the learner in the curriculum, without evaluating higher-level educational outcomes such as behavioral changes that benefit other trainees and the program as a whole. Methods We developed a 2-week Resident-as-Teacher (RaT) rotation, during which senior medicine residents lecture, lead morning report, teach exam maneuvers, and rehearse feedback skills, under direct faculty observation. We surveyed participating RaT residents, interns who worked with RaT residents, and interns who did not work with RaT residents, and we examined rates of program evaluation completion. Results All 42 Post Graduate Year 3 residents completed the rotation during the 2015–16 academic year, 26 (62%) during the study period. Of these 26 residents, 21 (81%) responded to the pre-rotation survey and 24 (92%) to the immediate post-rotation and 6-month follow-up surveys. RaT residents reported increased confidence in all teaching formats. Interns who worked with these residents were more satisfied with the feedback they received than their co-interns who did not (92 vs. 63%). Residents who completed the RaT rotation were more likely to fill out online evaluations (mean completion rate 82 vs. 69%). Conclusions Our 2-week intensive curriculum on teaching and feedback improved self-reported comfort with teaching and preparedness for careers in academic medicine. Moreover, our analysis suggests the intervention changed resident behaviors, improving the experience of other trainees and rates of online evaluation completion.