Skip to main content
Successful in getting recognition for the complexity and work of teaching is indeed something to celebrate. Having been at UNC when video observation of residents was regularly used and reviewed, I learned the power of direct observation as both a teacher and a subject (faculty members were often observed by residents whose comments and suggestions were invaluable). At the end of my teaching career, I was fortunate enough to be included as an "add on" teacher and spent half days observing residents and arranging to give them feedback. It was the best teaching I think I had done and the most rewarding. I would encourage programs to do two things with hard won peace and the time it carried: make direct observation a regular part of residency education - and teach faculty members how to do it well - and that a good use for emeritus/retired faculty members is to have them serve as direct observers part of that time. Using skilled teachers who have much to teach, even after retirement, is a good use of the teaching communities in which we live.