Abstract :
Introduction: Effective teaching in medicine is essential to produce good quality doctors. To improve
the quality of medical education and effectiveness of educator in medical college, one must identify the
attributes that makes a medical teacher effective. As teachers have a significant role in students’ learning,
it is pertinent to identify the factors which make them effective.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The study population included the faculties and
I year MBBS student of Dr. M K Shah Medical College & Research Centre, Ahmedabad. A questionnaire
comprising of 14 attributes of different qualities of teacher was specifically prepared. Faculty members and
students were asked to rank different qualities as per their choice.
Objectives: The objective of this study is to identify the important characteristics of effective medical
teachers as perceived by faculties as well as students
Results: Out of 181 participants, 116 were students of the I MBBS and 65 were faculty members of
different departments. The top three desirable qualities of an effective teacher in our study as perceived by
the students are knowledge of subject, enthusiasm and availability of teachers. While faculty perception
regarding the top three desirable qualities are knowledge of the subject, well preparedness for teaching and
enthusiasm.
Conclusion: Faculty development programme should focus on improving the attributes of medical teachers
as identified by faculty themselves and students. Future studies can identify more significant attributes in
greater depth and details.
Keyword :
Faculty Development, Effective teaching, Medical teachers, Medical students, Teacher attributes.