Regular teaching is a part and parcel of all NHS jobs. Be it case presentations, morbidity and mortality meetings or teaching sessions for medical students. Every junior doctor has to teach at one point in their career. This is seen as a very important skill and is also tested as such during the interview. Interviewers are looking for someone who are enthusiastic about teaching rather than someone who sees teaching as just a part of their duties.
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Questions
- Tell us about your teaching experience
- Which methods/styles of teaching do you use?
- What are the qualities of a good teacher?What interests you in teaching? /Why do you want to join a teaching fellow job?
- How would you describe your capabilities to work as a teacher?
- Give an example where you had to improvise your technique in order to accomodate a student in need?
- How would you organize a teaching session in the department?
- Which feedback methods do you use?
- How did you use the feedback to improve your teaching?
YOU WILL NOT BE ASKED ALL OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS IF YOU ARE NOT APPLYING FOR A TEACHING FELLOW POST. JUST ONE OR TWO GENERAL QUESTIONS. FOR THOSE APPLYING FOR ACADEMIC AND TEACHING POSTS, MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO ANSWER ANY OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS.
General Points for Creating Your Response:
Keep the following points in mind when crafting a responce for this question:
- Your answer should be better than the average informal teaching answer that most candidates are going to mention.
- Provide a detailed answer for this question; about 2-3 minutes in length.
- Wherever possible and applicable, use an example from your experience.
Question #1: Tell us about your teaching experience
This is the question that will be asked to most of the candidates e.g., junior clinical fellows, trust grade doctors, or FY2 doctors. Your answer should be comprehensive for this question. The rest of the questions are most likely to be asked during interviews for teaching and academic fellowships. Regardless, one should be thoughly prepared for this question.
Cover the following in your answer:
A. Teaching Experience
- The type of audience that you have taught e.g., medical students, nurses, or community
- Teaching methods that you use (Presentations, one-to-one coaching, simulations, practicals)
- Type of topics that you teach e.g., clinical skills, procedures, history taking, examinations
- You can also mention any teaching sessions that you have organized in your ward
B. Teaching Courses
- Name of the teaching course
- What you learnt and gained from it
- How did it help you to improve
C. Feedback
- How did you collect feedback e.g., informally (verbal) or formally (questionnaires)
- What was the feedback i.e., what others think of your teaching (strong points)
Example Answer
"Teaching is an important part of my experience as a doctor, and I've gained significant experience in teaching various audiences.
I've taught medical students, junior doctors, and nurses on wards during formal sessions. I frequently use presentations, one-on-one coaching, and simulation-based learning to teach medical students clinical skills such as taking histories, completing physical examinations, and performing procedures like venipuncture, IV medications, and blood gas sampling etc.
I've also organized and delivered several clinical training sessions on managing acutely unwell patients, resucitation techniques, and point-of-care ultrasound.
To strengthen my teaching skills, I completed 'Teach the Teacher' course which taught me about a range of approaches for making learning more engaging and successful. This training taught me how to effectively arrange my teaching sessions and adjust my approach to different audiences. It has also helped me gain confidence in guiding small group discussions and delivering presentations.
I've utilized formal methods, such as completing anonymous questionnaires following scheduled teaching sessions. The feedback I have received has been quite excellent, with medical students praising my abilities to effectively explain complex issues and provide a welcoming learning environment.
Overall, I am excited to continue my commitment in education and help train the future generation of doctors."
Question #2: Which methods/styles of teaching do you use or know?
You answer should be interesting and personal. You should show your awareness of different teaching methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and provide your personal examples.
Cover the following in your answer
A. Variety of Teaching Methods
1. One-to-one Interactive Teaching
- Pros: Can be tailored to strenghts and weaknesses of each student. encourages maximum participation from the student. Also offers maximum flexibility.
- Cons: Time consuming, and no peer-review or influence
2. Workshops, Tutorials
- Pros: Interaction among participants raises quality
- Cons: Some students might struggle to keep up with the rest
3. Formal Lectures
- Pros: Easy to deliver and can reach larger audiences
- Cons: No interaction between students and teacher which leads to low quality
4. E-learning
- Pros: Students can learn on their own pace. Can repeat lectures.
B. Expand on Each Method
- Your understanding the method
- Your own experience with the method
- Pros and cons of the method
- Only a brief mention is enough; do not go into details
Question #3: What are qualities of a good teacher?
Your answer should cover the general qualities of a good teacher as well as discuss your own skills and experience.
Qualities of Good Teacher
- Have a clear plan to achieve their goal
- Contnously involves students in the process
- Positive and encouraging
- Promote enthusiasm in their students
- Adapt according to students and alter their methods accordingly
- Respects students
- Reflects on negative feedback and improvise
Cover the following in your answer:
- Qualities of a good teacher and why each quality is important
- How you incorporate those into your own teaching
- Give examples for one or two qualities
- Briely state the feedback you receive about your teaching