Consumers as tutors - legitimate teachers?
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to research the feasibility of training mental health consumers as tutors for 4th year medical students in psychiatry. METHODS: A partnership between a consumer network and an academic unit in Psychological Medicine was formed to jointly develop a training package for consumer tutors and a curriculum in interviewing skills for medical students. Student attitudes to mental health consumers were measured pre and post the program. All tutorial evaluation data was analysed using univariate statistics. Both tutors and students evaluated the teaching program using a 4 point rating scale. The mean scores for teaching and content for both students and tutors were compared using an independent samples t-test. RESULTS: Consumer tutors were successfully trained and accredited as tutors and able to sustain delivery of tutorials over a 4 year period. The study found that whilst the medical students started with positive attitudes towards consumers prior to the program, there was a general trend towards improved attitude across all measures. Other outcomes for tutors and students (both positive and negative) are described. CONCLUSIONS: Consumer tutors along with professional tutors have a place in the education of medical students, are an untapped resource and deliver largely positive outcomes for students and themselves. Further possible developments are described.
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One article mentions finishing the preparation of patient educators with a short quiz as an assessment tool and having a graduation session before starting to teach.
“One article mentions finishing the preparation of patient educators with a short quiz as an assessment tool and having a graduation session before starting to teach.28”
From Role of active patient involvement in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
Several patients were members of the steering committee for the psychiatry curriculum and the interprofessional education curriculum.
“Several patients were members of the steering committee for the psychiatry curriculum28 and the interprofessional education curriculum.49”
From Role of active patient involvement in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
Students in intervention studies with patient teachers living with physical or mental disabilities demonstrated an improved attitude, increased levels of comfort in communication, increased levels of self-efficacy and confidence, and higher mean performance scores across all interview stations when compared with a control group.
“Similarly, students in intervention studies with patient teachers living with physical or mental disabilities demonstrated an improved attitude,28 increased levels of comfort in communication,57 increased levels of self-efficacy and confidence,63 65 and higher mean performance scores across all interview stations when compared with a control group.65”
From Role of active patient involvement in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
The most cited interaction between patient organisations and medical faculties was the use of patient organisations and their networks for the recruitment of individual patients as community members or members of condition-specific support groups.
“The most cited interaction between patient organisations and medical faculties was the use of patient organisations and their networks for the recruitment of individual patients as community members or members of condition-specific support groups.24 28 29 36 49 55 56 60 69”
From Role of active patient involvement in undergraduate medical education: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [28]
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- Authors
- Owen, C., & Reay, R. E.
- Affiliations
- Australian National University (AU)
- Canberra Hospital (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Owen, Cathy
- ORCID
- Reay, Rebecca E
- Venue
- BMC Medical Education
- Published
- 2004-09-20
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 14-14
- ISSN
- 1472-6920 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC524164
- OpenAlex
- W1566331951
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 1.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- BMC Medical Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Empathy and Medical Education
- Keywords
- psychiatric training, medical students, interviewing skills training, tutor training, curriculum development
- MeSH terms
- Attitude of Health Personnel, Australia, Consumer Organizations, Community Participation, Education, Medical, Undergraduate, Faculty, Feasibility Studies, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Organizational Affiliation, Physician-Patient Relations, Psychiatry, Schools, Medical, Students, Medical, Program Evaluation, Problem-Based Learning, Persons with Psychiatric Disorders
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