THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS CONFIDENCE AND USE OF CLINICAL TEACHING SKILLS IN AMBULATORY CARE SETTINGS

Background: As medical schools expand their teaching programs into amb ulatory care settings, faculty must learn to use new and more effectiv e reaching skills. They must therefore be convinced of the importance of those skills and confident in using them. Purpose: Teachers' confid ence in their own teaching abilities (i.e., self-efficacy) is examined in this study. Methods: We surveyed 145 primary care faculty about th eir feelings of confidence in and use of 28 specific teaching skills. Results: Faculty self-ratings indicated that they were less confident in using learning-enhancing teaching skills than in using supervisory behaviors that focus on patient care. Degree of confidence was most st rongly associated with self-ratings of frequency of use; physician exp erience and estimated length of time spent in teaching encounters did not mediate this relation. These findings suggest that physicians' tea ching behaviors may depend largely on their self-confidence. Conclusio ns: We suggest that teacher attitudes and beliefs about their ability to perform actions that promote learning, a concept known as teacher s elf-efficacy, may affect the choice and use of teaching behaviors.