Teaching

This course is part of the RCOG Core Knowledge series.

Educating others is a central role of the clinician. Hippocrates placed a doctor's role as a teacher before that of clinician in his/her oath. The General Medical Council (GMC), in its publication The doctor as a teacher, states that:

"All doctors have a professional obligation to contribute to the education and training of other doctors, medical students and non-medical healthcare professionals on the team."

Good medical practice sets out the principles and values on which good practice is founded and includes, as one of the duties of all doctors, a willingness to contribute to teaching of other doctors and students. It also makes clear that doctors involved in teaching "must develop the skills, attitudes and practices of a competent teacher".

This course is, therefore, designed to assist you in meeting this professional 'obligation' to teach by providing an insight into the roles of a clinical teacher. It considers recent trends in medical education and provides guidance on how to develop approaches to teaching and learning to ensure that the teaching you provide is of good quality.