Humanistic teaching attributes of primary care physicians

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Abstract
Little research exists on the humanistic qualities of the physician as teacher. This study examined the humanistic teaching attributes used by 30 primary care physicians when teaching medical students in the ambulatory setting. Three research questions were addressed: What humanistic teaching behaviors are demonstrated by physician‐teachers? How do these observed behaviors compare with medical students’ perceptions of physician behavior? How do these observed behaviors compare with the physician‐teachers’ perceptions of their own behaviors? Data from direct observation of the clinical teaching encounter between the physician‐teacher and medical student were compared with students’ perceptions of the humanistic behaviors demonstrated by the teacher and the teacher's perception of the frequency with which these behaviors were used. Humanistic teaching attributes were observed to occur with moderate to high frequency. Findings are consistent with other studies suggesting little correlation between self‐report and other evaluation strategies.