The Teacher, the Physician and the Person: How Faculty's Teaching Performance Influences Their Role Modelling

Objective: Previous studies identified different typologies of role models (as teacher/supervisor, physician and person) and explored which of faculty's characteristics could distinguish good role models. The aim of this study was to explore how and to which extent clinical faculty's teaching performance influences residents' evaluations of faculty's different role modelling statuses, especially across different specialties. Methods: In a prospective multicenter multispecialty study of faculty's teaching performance, we used web-based questionnaires to gather empirical data from residents. The main outcome measures were the different typologies of role modelling. The predictors were faculty's overall teaching performance and faculty's teaching performance on specific domains of teaching. The data were analyzed using multilevel regression equations. Results: In total 219 (69% response rate) residents filled out 2111 questionnaires about 423 (96% response rate) faculty. Faculty's overall teaching performance influenced all role model typologies (OR: from 8.0 to 166.2). For the specific domains of teaching, overall, all three role model typologies were strongly associated with “professional attitude towards residents” (OR: 3.28 for teacher/supervisor, 2.72 for physician and 7.20 for the person role). Further, the teacher/supervisor role was strongly associated with “feedback” and “learning climate” (OR: 3.23 and 2.70). However, the associations of the specific domains of teaching with faculty's role modelling varied widely across specialties. Conclusion: This study suggests that faculty can substantially enhance their role modelling by improving their teaching performance. The amount of influence that the specific domains of teaching have on role modelling differs across specialties.