Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Apr 21;23(1):274.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-023-04243-y.

Perception versus reality: analysis of time spent on bedside rounds in an academic ICU (Intensive Care Unit)

Haroon Ahmed  1 , Austin B King  2 , Nada Mohamed  2 , Erica Mokaya  2 , Kyle Chapman  2 , Rachel Leonard  2
Affiliations

Perception versus reality: analysis of time spent on bedside rounds in an academic ICU (Intensive Care Unit)

Haroon Ahmed et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Despite its importance, teaching at the bedside is declining over time. This purported decline has not been quantified. Quantifying bedside teaching is challenging, and we found only one study quantifying bedside teaching on a hospitalist service.

Objective: We conducted a study to understand the prevalence of bedside teaching in our medical intensive care unit.

Methods: We conducted a single-center single-unit study in the medical intensive care unit of an academic tertiary care institution. We used a survey tool to assess perceived time spent on bedside teaching, quality of teaching, and total rounding time. In parallel, independent observers objectively measured time spent on rounds and on bedside teaching. Residents were asked to complete the survey once a week. Independent observers collected data daily and weekly averages were obtained.

Results: 43 responses were collected over a 4-month period. Most respondents (73%) reported a total rounding time of either 90-120 min or greater than 120 min. Median reported bedside teaching time was 16-20 min with 16 respondents (37%) reporting less than 15 min and 27 respondents (63%) reporting 16 min or more. The amount of time spent on bedside teaching was reported as adequate or more than adequate by 77% (33) of respondents with 58% (25) reporting that bedside teaching was very or extremely effective in helping them learn. Mean census reported by the independent observers was 12.75 patients per team. Bedside teaching represented an average of 12% of total rounding time, 16.85 min per day. While total rounding time increased with increasing census, there was no decline in bedside teaching time.

Conclusion: It is reported that bedside teaching has decreased over time. Our study has demonstrated that bedside teaching occurs in our Medical ICU, and though it represents a minority of the time spent on rounds, residents still reported teaching in the ICU to be adequate.

Keywords: Bedside teaching; Graduate Medical Education; ICU bedside teaching; Medical Education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
On average, how much time was spent rounding on patients with attending?
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Over the past week, on average how much time was spent on bedside teaching each day?
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Do you think enough time was spent on bedside teaching?
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Do you think that teaching at bedside helped you learn effectively?
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Osler W. The hospital as a college. In: Osler W, editor. Aequanimitas: with other addresses to medical students, nurses and practitioners of Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: P. Blakiston’s Son; 1905. pp. 327–42.
    1. Shaterjalali M, Changiz T, Yamani N. Optimal clinical setting, tutors, and learning opportunities in medical education: A content analysis. J Educ Health Promot. 2018;7:130. Published 2018 Oct 29. 10.4103/jehp.jehp_56_18 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Martha Turner USAFNC, Wilson C, Gausman PhDK, Roy NCUSAMJ. MC USA, Optimal Methods of Learning for Military Medical Education, Military Medicine, Volume 168, Issue suppl_1, September 2003, Pages 46–50, 10.1093/milmed/168.suppl_1.46 - PubMed
    1. Garout M, Nuqali A, et al. Bedside teaching: an underutilized tool in medical education. Int J Med Ed. 2016;7:261–2. doi: 10.5116/ijme.5780.bdba. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Peters M, ten Cate O. Bedside teaching in medical education: a literature review.Perspect Med Educ.204; 3:76–88 - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources