The First Experience in Teaching Psychiatry

Abstract

For seven years, first year residents in psychiatry have been followed in their initial teaching effort. In the most recent group studied, five residents who taught psychology of adolescence to undergraduate education majors initially experienced considerable anxiety, followed by immediate relief, a progressive sense of mastery and enthusiasm, and a reluctance to end the elective. At the conclusion, all reported that the experience was extremely worthwhile and wished to continue teaching to try out new ideas. All of twenty undergraduate students who responded to an anonymous questionnaire rated their resident-instructor “above average” in comparison with previous instructors in high school and college, and 45 percent rated him “one of the best.” The faculty documented the residents' learning by behavioral changes over the observational period.

In our experience, brief but active involvement in teaching has proven to be the best starting point. Educators as supervisors help the resident bypass threatening issues relating to his uncertain identity as a psychiatrist, while guided experience helps him achieve a beginning sense of mastery of teaching skills which can be integrated with his developing knowledge of psychiatry.

A concomitantly developing conceptual model of therapy aids the resident in developing an educational model which includes such comparable aspects as a “learning contract,” a “learning alliance” and “transference/countertransference” student-teacher reactions.