Training teachers in the anatomical sciences

A number of medical schools have initiated workshops to improve faculty teaching skills. Little effort, however, has been directed toward the pedagogical training of graduate students who are destined to become future medical science teachers. To help solve this problem, the faculty of the Department of Anatomy in the University of Nebraska College of Medicine recently developed a prototype teacher training program for graduate students in anatomy. Through formal course work and practical classroom experience, students are developing the skills requisite for effective teaching of the anatomical sciences. Student and faculty response to the training program has been enthusiastic, and the objectives and structure of the program can be applied to the production of competent and skilled teachers in other areas of the basic and clinical sciences.