How expert clinical educators teach what they know

Schön's Model of Reflective Practice is based on how physicians think, and it emphasizes learning from experience. In this study, 13 “above average” clinical teachers were interviewed, exploring the question “How do good teachers transmit to learners the knowing-in-action that is imbedded in experience”? The findings indicate that physicians think like the other professionals studied by Schön and that the stages of his model are apparent in the way good physician-teachers help residents learn from patient care experiences. This paper discusses characteristics of the physician-teachers, examples of how their responses fit Schön's model, ways this teaching method can be incorporated into existing curricula, and implications of the model for other components of the medical education continuum.