Special Feature: Teaching Medical Students in Family Practice: Enriching Careers and Communities by Dr. Barra O’Briain
“Teaching is a dynamic form of professional development, keeping your clinical skills sharp.”
Teaching medical students in family practice can benefit physicians, learners, patients, and communities alike. By helping students build communication, examination, and clinical reasoning skills, family physicians can influence future career choices and encourage learners to consider practising in the communities where they train.
Teaching can also serve as an ongoing form of professional development, keeping physicians engaged with current medical knowledge, technology, and new perspectives.
For practising physicians, the benefits can extend beyond education. Teaching has been associated with increased professional satisfaction and reduced burnout, while offering an opportunity to reconnect with the parts of family medicine that feel most meaningful. For those approaching retirement, it can also support succession planning by introducing future physicians to the practice and community. One long-time preceptor ultimately transferred his patient panel to a former medical student.
UBC offers teaching opportunities across all four years of medical training, along with resources to help community-based preceptors strengthen their teaching skills.