Students helping students: Five years of experience

Abstract

Peer teaching can be defined as the transmission of knowledge between colleagues from the same or similar stages of academic training. Near peer teaching (NPT) is a similar variant, in which higher level students (tutors typically 2-5 years ahead of the tutee in the academic program) mentor their junior classmates (tutees) by temporarily assuming the role of the instructor. This method has been utilized in many university and medical school settings (Evans and Cuffe, 2009;Jackson and Evans, 2012;Cantwell et al., 2015;Riddell and King, 2016). In the United Kingdom, the General Medical Council's guidelines, Tomorrow's Doctors: Recommendations on Undergraduate Medical Education, states that a medical graduate must "function effectively as a mentor and teacher" (GMC, 2009). Therefore, implementing an NPT program within an undergraduate curriculum stands to prepare medical students for their future role as educators.We have read with great interest the recent article published in ASE by Bruno et al. (2016), and we applaud their work; however, as the authors mentioned, there were several limitations. We agree that the sample size and the number of sessions involved were too small to draw any longstanding conclusions. We would like to bring to attention another important limitation. With regards to the analysis of student perceptions regarding the program, the authors based their findings on comments from the majority of students (74.3%) who attended a single session of the peer teaching program in human anatomy (Bruno et al., 2016). In our opinion, every student must complete at least 80% of the course in order to have a valid perception of the entire program.Five years ago we designed and implemented a human anatomy course in our medical school at Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico, integrating NPT. We were faced with several obstacles: curriculum reform, an increase in student enrollment, low faculty-to-student ratios, and an insufficient number of cadavers for gross anatomy laboratory practical sessions. The course was reformatted to last 18 weeks and was divided into four learning modules: theory, clinical hours, anatomy imaging, and laboratory modules (Dur an et al., 2012). The theory module consisted of lectures that lasted one hour daily, five days a week, and were carried out in a traditional manner (one professor with 50 students). The laboratory section (three hours per week) was based on clinical reasoning activities guided by near-peer instructors who were previously trained by professors with regards to the subject matter (Dur an et al., 2012).When we first implemented this program in 2011, a total of 700 first-year students were enrolled in the human anatomy course. At the end of the semester more than 500 had agreed to answer a survey we designed to collect and analyze their opinions on the course design. We analysed qualitative aspects of the NPT program (i.e., communication skills, motivation, and performance) and found that the majority of students rated all of these aspects as e...

Factors Influencing Scientific Achievements of Medical Students in the Anatomy Research Group: An Analysis From the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Mexico

“…These results show that the most influential motivation for students was a professor/physician (researcher) as serving as an example. This is consistent with reports emphasizing the importance of mentor-mentee relationship development and behavioral-professional mimicking (Bland and Atweh, 2007;Gershenfeld, 2014;Palmer et al, 2015;Reyes-Hernández et al, 2016;Tan et al, 2018;Elizondo-Omaña et al, 2019).…”

“…The results from this study suggest an effective strategy for student research recruitment would begin by including the professors and students (peers) already involved, to inspire and motivate through example. A motivating strategy has been shown to be more successful (Reyes-Hernández et al, 2016;Elizondo-Omaña et al, 2019), and forced participation has been poorly received (Pololi and Knight, 2005).…”

Mexican Educators Survey on Anatomical Sciences Education and a Review of World Tendencies

“…Doctor, and the Latin word from which it derives, also means teacher, a role for which doctors have been naturally known. Often, knowledge and experience were passed on between peers and mentors‐mentees interactions (Bulte et al, 2007; Jackson and Evans, 2012; Reyes‐Hernández et al, 2016; Guerrero‐Mendivil et al, 2020; Quiroga‐Garza et al, 2020). However, most doctors lack formal training in education.…”

Payment with knowledge: A method for a training of anatomy near‐peer teachers and formation of future anatomists

“…Social gatherings were also planned with educators, creating a social environment in which the NPTs can dialog more with their mentors. 34,[54][55][56][57] Although results have been positive, the program has been constantly adapting to improve quality. The majority (97%) agreed they found good friends within their fellow anatomy NPT.…”

“…Near‐peer teachers have been allowed to use the department logo (created in 1993 by a group of NPTs) on their clinical coats, and sports team uniforms for competitions. Social gatherings were also planned with educators, creating a social environment in which the NPTs can dialog more with their mentors 34,54‐57 . Although results have been positive, the program has been constantly adapting to improve quality.…”