Investing in the Academic Future of Physical Therapy Learners: The Resident Educator
Residency education is largely viewed as the path to advanced practice as an expert clinician. Less recognized, however, is the classroom teaching expertise made possible through residency programs. As expert clinicians are not always expert classroom educators, robust teaching mentorship is required to develop residents as highly effective laboratory assistants and classroom lecturers. While immersive teaching experiences provide opportunities for residents to trial a variety of instructional approaches, the Òlearn as you goÓ approach fails to provide the essential development required for academic roles. Identification of streamlined, focused, and formalized mechanisms for faculty mentorship of resident educators is essential to their ultimate success as classroom educators. Recognizing the reality of time constraints and competing responsibilities, at a minimum the resident must be offered instruction and structured debriefs on approaches to advance student clinical reasoning, effectively provide student feedback, accurately assess student performance, appropriately promote student engagement, effectively address concerning behaviors, and properly adhere to academic standards, including FERPA and other programmatic policies. Presenters will highlight teaching development opportunities embedded into residency programs with differing clinical foci and how, irrespective of the residency program, the effort to develop resident educators is advantageous to all stakeholders.