Residents as Teachers

Original Approval: 7/1/2017

Revision Date: 9/1/2025

1. Definition
   An important part of the residents' job is that of educator. Residents are responsible for teaching medical students, patients, and each other. They must have the skills necessary to provide effective teaching. Physicians entering residency training may not have learned these important skills during their four years in medical school. As a result, many programs across the country have been developed to expand and enhance residents' teaching skills.
2. Requirements
   1. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine residents and fellows provide education to both residents and students.
   2. Residents and fellows in the school's training programs are required by each individual program to teach medical students rotating in required third year clerkships as well as in their fourth-year electives.
   3. Individual departments have specifically designated teaching requirements, including content and skills for their residents and fellows.
   4. Further, there are UNR Med educational objectives that are over-arching each of the clinical learning experiences. These objectives follow this policy and must be incorporated into the teaching of students.
3. Program
   1. To help residents, fellows, program directors and faculty achieve their teaching objectives and meet their programs' ACGME and the school's LCME accreditation requirements, a "Residents As Teachers" (RATs) program has been established.
   2. This program has several components:
      1. Webpage with multiple units for residents to use to improve their skills
      2. Links to modules for faculty to use with residents annually as a requirement to help residents improve their skills
      3. Annual sessions at intern orientation to provide basic teaching skills as they begin their training
      4. Residents as teachers are required to review Medical Education Program Objectives