LAUSR

The excellence of a residency program depends on the content of the program, the program’s facilities, and the attributes of the clinical teacher. Of these, the attributes of the clinical teacher are the most significant factors in implementing a successful program. The faculty development (FD) programs established to develop clinical teachers with these attributes are also extremely important. Several studies have examined the desirable attributes of clinical teachers. Sutkin et al. sorted the characteristics of good clinical teachers into three categories – physician characteristics, teacher characteristics, and human characteristics – in a review of the literature in North America and Europe. Fromme et al. established an exemplary model of a clinical teacher in pediatrics and proposed four domains – teaching skills, personal qualities, patient‐care skills, and role modeling – after conducting a qualitative analysis of individual interviews with pediatricians in hospitals and a focus group of pediatric trainees and students. However, scant research has been conducted on the attributes of effective clinical teachers currently working with trainees in pediatrics. Recently, Nishiya et al. clarified the attributes of clinical teachers in pediatrics and the differences between board‐certified pediatricians’ and trainees’ perceptions of these attributes for the first time in Asia. This study extracted 48 attributes of clinical teachers in pediatrics and classified them into three domains: personal attributes, pediatrician attributes, and teacher attributes. Some qualities extracted in this study, such as “is kind / thoughtful toward others” and “defends trainees,” were new to the list of commonly considered attributes. Furthermore, the differences in the pediatricians’ and trainees’ perceptions of these attributes were most noticeable for teacher attributes and least for personal attributes. Konishi et al. showed that the FD program in practical clinical teaching sponsored by the Japan Pediatrics Society improved cognitive apprenticeship clinical teaching. A self‐evaluation performed using the Maastricht Clinical Teaching Questionnaire revealed that cognitive apprenticeship clinical teaching continued for 6 months after the FD program was completed. These findings from Japan provide new insights into the attributes of effective clinical teachers and the importance of FD programs in pediatrics. Clarifying the attributes of effective clinical teachers in pediatrics and developing FD programs to nurture those attributes will contribute to the making of an excellent pediatric residency program and to its continued excellence through high‐quality pediatrician development and pediatric care enhancement.