Practical Tips for ICU Bedside Teaching

Abstract

Excellent clinical teaching is a skill that can be studied, refined, and continuously improved, just as any other procedure. Teaching in the ICU comes with unique challenges given the medical complexity of the patients, the time pressure, the diverse levels and professions of learners, and the challenges of communication at the end of life. Trainees, clinician-educators, and junior faculty can particularly benefit from learning how to optimize teaching in the ICU because being a good ICU clinician does not automatically translate to being able to transmit the knowledge and skills effectively. Moreover, ICUs have the benefit of also being staffed by interdisciplinary team members and learners such as nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students, as well as physician assistants and physician assistant students, in addition to medical students, residents, and fellows. In the present article, teaching tips transcend professional barriers: we use the term ""learner"" broadly to encompass all the aforementioned types of interdisciplinary learners. This article presents the latest evidence on ICU bedside teaching and incorporates practical tips and best practices for ICU teaching.