Teaching across the continuum: variations in rankings and valued teaching components between surgery residents and medical students

Abstract Background Surgical faculty teach medical students and residents within the same environment; however, each group may require different teaching methods. The aim of this study was to identify teaching components valued by these sets of learners. Methods Teaching evaluations for 43 surgical faculty members who received yearly evaluations from students and residents were analyzed. Highest and lowest ranked educators in medical student evaluations were traced to corresponding rankings in resident evaluations. Thematic analysis was conducted on written comments. Results Educators rated the highest in the medical student group were spread out among the residents' rankings, with several educators being rated the lowest. Similar patterns were observed in reverse for faculty rated highly by residents. Conclusions Residents and medical students value faculty teaching using different criteria, with residents more focused on operative autonomy and medical students focused on approachability. Using one group to define best teaching methods is insufficient as learners value different optimal attributes.