Diplomatosis

Teaching improvement programme system course (TIPS)

Authors: Venkateswara Rao S Kotamraju 

Publication date:  04 Nov 2009

Who is the course for?

TIPS is a highly sought after intensive two day course on basic teaching skills. It is run by the Medical Education Unit of Nottingham Medical School and has been popular for the past 12 years; about 950 health professionals have attended the course.

TIPS is aimed at all levels of academic and clinical staff, from foundation year 1 doctors to consultants and general practitioners, and it is basically for anyone who is interested in medical education and has a flair for teaching.

What does the course cover?

The course covers various aspects of basic teaching skills using a wide range of clinical and biomedical examples and lays a strong foundation for improving teaching skills.

What are the learning outcomes of the course?

The key learning outcomes covered are:

• Identifying the factors that influence learning

• Identifying the key features of effective lecturing

• Identifying the key features of effective small group teaching

• Identifying the key features of an effective PowerPoint presentation

• Learning how to create effective handouts

• Learning how to create a lesson plan

• Learning how to create student feedback forms

• How to feed back in one to one teaching, and the principles of effective feedback

• How to do individual microteaching sessions

• Evaluating microteaching sessions of peers; and reflecting on your own microteaching presentations.

How are the learning outcomes achieved?

The topics are covered using a wide variety of teaching methodologies, such as small group discussion; teaching videos; formal teaching; individual presentations; practising teaching skills with peers; providing feedback; and evaluating teaching.

Is there a formal assessment?

You need to prepare two 10 minute presentations (one on each day) making use of overheads, slides, PowerPoint, and video as part of the microteaching exercises, and present these to a group of six other participants who, along with the facilitator, will evaluate your teaching using a checklist and provide feedback. There is then a short group discussion.

The presentation on day 1 should be on a topic drawn from your routine clinical or academic practice. On day 2 it should be on a non-medical topic, which could be your hobby or pastime. This is to give you an opportunity to create something from scratch rather than teach something clinical that you are more comfortable with.

The microteaching sessions are recorded after obtaining written consent, and the recordings of the presentation are posted to you for self evaluation and reflection.

Why did you do it?

I have a very keen interest in teaching. I worked recently as an anatomy demonstrator at the University of Birmingham Medical School where I was involved in teaching various aspects of anatomy to first and second year medical and dental students in small groups of 16-18.

In my present post as a registrar in emergency medicine, I do formal clinical teaching sessions for junior doctors and third and final year medical students.

The course has helped me immensely to improve my teaching skills as well as reinforcing the General Medical Council’s perspective on the doctor as a teacher and the educational obligation of all doctors.

Was the course enjoyable?

Overall the course was very good. The most enjoyable part of the course is the microteaching exercise. You get an opportunity to evaluate peer presentations, and the range of topics covered was excellent (especially on day 2).

How much does the course cost?

For health professionals within the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire areas the cost is £125; for the rest it is £250.

Top tips

• Book early as the course is limited to 12-14 participants and is booked up a year in advance

• Attendance will give you points in the teaching experience section while applying for specialist training posts

• Having attended a formal teaching course looks very good on your CV.

Venkateswara Rao S Kotamraju registrar in emergency medicine

 docksvrao1@yahoo.co.uk