Teaching is something we can never run away from in medicine or in life. Teaching is sacred, as it is the passing down of beneficial knowledge to another so that they will be able to practice and benefit others. In medicine, teaching is compulsory and a responsibility for everyone. Here I would like to highlight things about teaching and how it would help our lives better as medical students and also as human beings.
Gain more knowledge
I bet now everyone has heard the term “see one, do one and teach one”. It’s amazing how by teaching others we are able to retain more from what we have studied compared to just plain reading. Teaching also reinforces our understanding and also helps improve communication skill which will be beneficial for our career later on.
Improve communication skills
As mentioned above, communications skill is like a bread and butter in this work field other than the knowledge we have. Working in medicine we often (read: daily) speak to patients, explaining their conditions, teaching them about their illnesses, on how to prevent and hoping their compliance will be better and not forgetting, comforting them ensuring a good quality of life. By teaching others, even to our colleagues, we indirectly train ourselves how to perform better when we speak to patients especially in explaining the illness or a procedure. It is also a great tool as it helps us revise especially in the communication skills OSCE stations.
Make a difference
Being in the wards, we understand that doctors do not have much time to explain to patients regarding their illnesses. In this case, the medical students can make a difference for patients by learning well the disease and explaining thoroughly about them to patients. Always check their understanding, correct them and comfort them. Making it your responsibility will definitely improve your day and also the patients’ day as well as helping the doctors in the ward by reducing their workload. Just make sure you get your facts right before explaining, hence the need for a strong theory and practical skills with friends.
Continuation of education
As I have mentioned earlier, you can never run away from teaching in medicine. This will prepare you as future HO’s teaching your peers, future MO’s teaching the HO’s and specialists who will also teach your subordinates. Remember this, “Behind every great person, there is a great teacher.” Thus, try to be the great teacher that you want.
Confidence
Teaching also builds the confidence in yourself to speak to these 4P’s; Patients, Peers, Public and powers that be (Politicians), which will determine your abilities as a great doctor. Confidence is built, never acquired and it’s never too late to become a confident person.
Hopefully these benefits and will help motivate all to teach others with beneficial knowledge, so that others may also help to care for patients and improve the healing process. And in the religion of Islam itself, also teaches that deeds of the deceased come to an end as soon as he or she dies, and the renewal of reward ceases for him or her, except in these three cases because he or she is the cause of them:
- Prayer of his or her off springs
- The knowledge that he or she leaves behind through teaching or writing
- Ongoing charity, i.e. a waqf (Islamic endowment)
Izzuddin Azaharuddin recently graduated from medical college as a house officer in Malaysia.