The Hospitalist Huddle: a 1-year experience of teaching Hospital Medicine utilizing the concept of peer teaching in medical education

Abstract

BackgroundThe relatively new specialty of Hospital Medicine in the USA is one of the fastest growing fields in internal medicine. Academic hospitalists are largely involved in the medical education of postgraduate residents and medical students. Little is known about the effectiveness of peer-to-peer teaching in internal medicine residency training programs and how the medical residents perceive its educational value in learning Hospital Medicine.Materials and methodsThe Hospitalist Huddle is a weekly educational activity newly established by our Hospitalist Division to facilitate the concept of peer-to-peer teaching. It requires medical residents to teach and educate their peers about the clinical topics related to Hospital Medicine. Faculty hospitalists serve as facilitators during the teaching sessions. A survey disseminated at the end of the first year of its implementation examined the residents’ perception of the educational value of this new teaching activity.ResultsMost residents reported that they see the Huddle as a useful educational forum which may improve their skills in teaching, create a better educational and learning environment during their inpatient rotation, and improve their understanding of Hospital Medicine. Most residents also prefer that their peers, rather than faculty hospitalists, run the activity and do the teaching.ConclusionThe survey results support the notion that teaching and learning with flat hierarchies can be an appealing educational method to medical residents to help them understand Hospital Medicine during their medical wards rotation. Some areas need to be improved and others need to be continued and emphasized in order to make this novel educational activity grow and flourish in terms of its educational value and residents’ satisfaction.

Changes in the provision of undergraduate ENT clinical placements across the UK in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

“…There is strong evidence in the literature that shows the efficacy of peer-to-peer teaching in improving in-person and online medical education, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. 13–15 An example of a successful peer-to-peer initiative within ENT is an annual student-led ENT Objective Structured Clinical Examination (‘OSCE’) course, provided for 159 medical students over three years, which has received overwhelmingly positive feedback. 16 Engaging senior medical students with an interest in ENT, such as Student and Foundation Doctors in Otolaryngology members, to develop peer-assisted learning resources could therefore help address the reduced learning opportunities in clinical placements in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

Peer teaching: Students teaching students to increase academic performance

“…In the context of medical school, Evans and Cuffe (2009) identified peer teaching as a learning strategy that provides an effective environment for developing deeper learning in anatomy through teaching others. Elhassan (2017) also studied the application of peer teaching in postgraduate medical education, finding that 84% of the research participants were very satisfied or satisfied with the experience of learning by peer teaching. Additionally, peer teaching applied in a teaching assistant program for a General Pathology course resulted in positive feedback that second‐year students were more actively preparing their board examinations and first‐year students were more interested in their education (Lomiguen, Gross, Terrell, Ogunsakin, & Junsanto‐Bahri, 2020).…”

Effectiveness of peer teaching in medical education: medical student’s perspective

“…As three clinical-year medical students in the United Kingdom, we were particularly intrigued by Elhassan’s 1 research into a weekly educational activity called the “hospitalist huddle” in the United States. It explored the concept of peer teaching among doctors and its effectiveness.…”

“…It provides a safe and supportive educational environment for students, allows tutors to develop leadership and confidence, and alleviates pressures on faculties to find senior clinicians to teach. 2 This concept of “flat hierarchies,” which was explored by Elhassan, 1 has been found to be an effective teaching tool. In fact, a study in Bahrain demonstrated that students taught by peers performed better in tutorials than those taught by faculty staff.…”

“…There is limited data regarding the effectiveness of these postgraduate teaching methods. However, Elhassan’s 1 research does suggest this is an effective method for postgraduate medical education, with 84% of respondents saying they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the huddle as an educational experience. Having attended similar sessions as students, although at times cases are more complex than required for our understanding, it triggers interest and encourages us to do further reading.…”