Introduction: Emergency department (ED) crowding and increased patient load has been shown to have an impact on physician decision making and patient mortality. As the volumes in Canadian EDs increase, so does the need to effectively prepare new learners for the challenges ahead. This study aims to determine which level of training varying teaching techniques should be employed to educate Emergency Medicine (EM) residents about ED management and flow in the age of competency based medical education. Methods: We designed a survey that contained a previously derived list of ED flow and management teaching strategies. We piloted and edited the survey based on feedback from operations and educational experts. A total of 21 teaching techniques were included in the final survey ranging from didactic teaching sessions to experiential techniques such as residents running the department with supervision. Then, we invited members of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada EM specialty committee, the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Education Scholarship Section, and the Canadian EM Simulation Educators Collaborative to participate in our survey. We analysed the results using simple descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 21 EM (38% female, 62% male) educators from 11 programs (78% of Royal College Training sites) responded to the survey, representing 7/10 provinces, with a mean years-in-practice of 15.2 years (SD 9.7). All respondents were involved in resident education; 66% had a current formal educational role, such as Program Director. Results showed a universal trend towards teaching flow and management skills later in residency. Participants endorsed 35.93% of teaching strategies for the “Core of discipline” and 39.65% for the “Transition to practice” stages of training. Didactic and observational techniques were occasionally considered acceptable at earlier training stages, whereas experiential teaching techniques were skewed towards the later stages of residency. Conclusion: EM educators from across Canada believe that most teaching techniques for flow are better suited for the later stages of residency training, with didactic techniques more suitable earlier on. This work will inform faculty development on managerial/leadership skills teaching in the ED.

Background: The clinical practicum provides an opportunity for students to apply and integrate classroom theory and clinical practice and competence effectively. In a teaching hospital, it is the responsibility of all staff to participate in clinical teaching and every interaction with a student constitutes a learning experience. The clinical teaching characteristics that are important to students and facilitate learning are not clearly defined in radiation therapy practice.

Objective: To determine and compare the perceptions of the most and the least important clinical teaching characteristics as identified by radiation therapy staff and students.

Methods: A self-administered, online questionnaire was used. The questionnaire was developed using clinical teaching characteristics identified in the literature and from Knox and Mogan’s Nursing Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Inventory. Participants were asked to rate on a 4-point, Likert-type scale the importance of the teaching characteristics with 1 being ‘not at all important’ and 4 being ‘very important’. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 49 radiation therapists and 10 students responded to the survey, constituting a 39% response rate.

Results: There was generally a greater agreement between staff and students in terms of rating the least important teaching characteristics, being in the categories of interpersonal relationships and personality traits. Staff ranked characteristics in the category of Clinical Competence as most important, whereas the most important clinical teaching characteristics for students were dispersed amongst all categories.

Conclusion: Radiation therapy staff and students place great emphasis on the demonstration of clinical competence in the teaching–learning process; clinical teachers should be made aware of and develop these characteristics, which ultimately assist in the student’s success.

Clinical teaching is an integral part of emergency medical practice. With the growing number of medical students and residents in the emergency department there are increasing expectations for clinicians to teach. But there are many challenges and obstacles to overcome when teaching in a busy department. By incorporating diverse strategies and techniques, we can become more effective and efficient emergency medicine teachers.