SMART tips for setting teaching objectives

‘Doctor’, derived from Latin, means ‘teacher’. As doctors, we teach our patients, students and colleagues. The General Medical Council makes reference to this in ‘Good Medical Practice’, stating that as a doctor ‘you should be prepared to contribute to teaching and training doctors and students’. The importance of teaching is echoed in the RCGP curriculum. Despite its importance, not every doctor has the opportunity of formal training on how to become an effective teacher. This article presents a simple guide that doctors can use to plan teaching sessions.