Teaching UCL Medical Students

Healthcare professionals can support students by providing on-the-job teaching and role modelling. The General Medical Council, the Foundation Programme and higher training curricula such as from the Royal Colleges recognise the need for trainees to develop their teaching skills.  

All teaching delivered to UCL medical students must align with the core values of UCL Medical School and contribute to the development of "The UCL Doctor". Please have a look at our Standards for Clinical Teachers guidance which aims to set out the roles and responsibilities of those involved in teaching UCL medical students. You should also be aware of the induction guideline for clinical placements.  

Academic Student Record (ASR)

Please see the overview of the UCL Medical School MBBS course and sign up to ASR (the Academic Student Record) to learn more about the curriculum for the cohort you are teaching. ASR is a UCL Medical School platform which includes the Curriculum Map, learning surveys, Portfolio, timetabling, and attendance recording. As clinical teachers you can check student feedback for your site, module and specialty under the learning surveys, and see any outstanding Portfolio tickets. If you are a lead or supervisor, you may have additional access levels, such as the ability to check and update teaching timetables and record unexplained student absence. Please see the user guide for further information about the Curriculum Map and accessing ASR as a UCL or non-UCL staff member. 

ASR Poster:

Student Support 

Every student is assigned a personal tutor who acts as a first point of call to provide academic and pastoral support. You can also signpost students to Student Support for any questions related to financial assistance, study skills and careers development. There is information available on the Student Support and Wellbeing page if you have concerns about a student’s wellbeing or safety. 

What is good quality medical teaching? 

Good quality teaching goes on every day across clinical settings including wards, theatres, outpatient clinics and the community. There is no one ideal formula for good teaching, but effective learning happens when: 

• Teachers are enthusiastic and supportive 
• Students feel part of the team and can actively engage in day-to-day clinical activities 
• Teaching is based around patients and cases rather than diseases 

Experiences of teaching UCL medical students 

A 2021-22 research study undertaken by UCL Medical School Lecturers (in Teaching) highlighted the positive wellbeing benefits for clinicians from teaching medical students. Personal satisfaction from teaching was a primary theme drawn from the data gathered from MBBS clinicians who teach Year 4-6 medical students undertaking clinical placements.  

A Word Cloud made from the comments from clinicians about their experiences of teaching 

Quotes from MBBS clinicians 

“Teaching students has been one of the best things about my job for years.” 

“Teaching students is a great joy. It keeps me up to date and there is great satisfaction from supporting the next generation of doctors.” 

“It is rewarding to see enthusiastic young doctors grow in confidence and ability during their attachments.” 

“Our students are motivated and motivating!” 

Teaching tips 

• Encourage clinical reasoning when teaching and supervising students.  
• Centre your teaching around patients, cases or symptoms. For example, it is more useful to teach about breathlessness and then to apply this to a breathless patient, than to teach about pulmonary fibrosis.  
• Encourage students to make diagnoses and management plans.  
• Remember to pitch your teaching at the right level for your students. 
• Ensure your teaching aligns with the MBBS Curriculum Map. 
• Keep teaching sessions active and engaging: an hour of teaching is more valuable if spent honing skills at the bedside rather than in a didactic lecture session.  
• Don’t forget to teach data interpretation, communication skills, as well as ethical and legal aspects of clinical care.  
• You will be a role model to the students (whether you wish to be or not!), so remember to model good behaviour. 

Provision of additional teaching 

Resident doctors involved in providing supplementary teaching outside that provided by their firm should ensure that:  

• They have discussed their plans with the undergraduate site lead to ensure that it is appropriate. 
• There is a senior clinician with overall responsibility for supervision of the teaching. 
• The planned teaching does not take students away from the wards unnecessarily. 
• The planned teaching does not conflict with established teaching (it is unacceptable for students to miss scheduled teaching or clinical commitments). 
• The teaching sessions are open to all interested students at the site on a voluntary basis. 

Wherever possible, supplementary teaching should not require room bookings or additional support, but, where this is needed, it should be discussed in advance with the undergraduate site lead. Please remember that there may be costs associated with these requirements. 

The medical school does not endorse any external or commercial courses and has very clear guidance on this in the A-Z of Policies.