Qualities of excellent resident and attending teachers recognized by medical students: A qualitative analysis of nominations for surgical clerkship teaching awards

Background: Effective teaching positively impacts student experience during the surgical clerkship. We sought to better understand how medical students characterize excellent surgical educators and how these characteristics may differ between residents and attendings. Methods: 289 nominations by third-year medical students for a surgical resident and attending teaching award were examined for thematic content using conventional content analysis. Results: Six major themes emerged: inclusion of students, prioritizing student education, facilitating procedural involvement, utilizing effective educational methods, providing mentorship, and role modeling. Residents were more frequently commended for the first three themes, while residents and attendings were recognized equally for the latter three. Conclusions: In identifying excellent surgical educators, students emphasized the educators' roles in fostering a positive learning environment where student education is prioritized. Residents were recognized more often than attendings for a broader set of qualities valued by students. Residents as teachers training should be structured to develop these qualities.