What doctors can learn from medical students | Expert Opinion

I tell medical students you don’t really know something unless you can teach it. I absolutely disagree with George Bernard Shaw’s adage, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.”

Since becoming an attending dermatologist more than 10 years ago, even in private practice, I have always had students and learners rotating with me in my clinics.

Students may ask, “Can I shadow you?” The idea of the student as a “shadow” is a funny concept, to learn how I practice by essentially being a fly on the wall of my clinic while I examine and care for patients.

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These rotating students might assume that when they join me, they are the only ones doing the learning. Yet little do they know my self-interest. The learning is surprisingly twofold: Sure, I teach them about skin diseases and treatments, but they always keep me on my toes, updating me on the most recent research, and teaching them forces me to confront what I know and what I don’t — especially when they ask the toughest questions.

The preeminent physician-writer Atul Gawande has written about the importance of coaching in medicine, arguing that even the most experienced and trained doctors can benefit from having an outside observer to comment and critique their performance. I constantly seek out opportunities to compare my practice and performance with colleagues.

Still, doctors are busy and we rarely get to compare or learn directly from each other — we mostly practice alone. Even doctors in the same physical locations rarely peek in on each other. How does Dr. X perform his full skin checks? How does Dr. Y teach her patients with eczema how to bathe and moisturize? What is Dr. Z’s typical acne regimen?

I don’t actually know, because I’ve almost never been in the room where it happens with them. It is often the students, who may shadow a different doctor every day, who can answer these questions for me and prompt me to reflect.

If you are a patient, I get why, even hearing this, you might squirm at the idea of a student sitting in on your appointment. Yes, of course, if the conversation or exam is especially intimate or vulnerable, by all means decline. But I believe that an extra set of eyes and an extra mind to consider your case can only work in your favor. Plus, you get to help mold future doctors to practice the way you want them to.

Beyond teaching in clinics, I regularly supervise student-led research projects with a similar effect: Students lead me into fascinating and important work, I just have to follow and know to say yes.

For instance, it was a student who asked me whether I would support asylum seekers and refugees. It was a group of undergraduate engineering students who suggested I analyze social media to understand dermatology. It was students who asked me to study representation of skin of color. Students keep me challenged.

There’s a reason they call the profession of doctoring a “practice.” We are constantly learning and growing from each experience and each patient. It doesn’t end when we finish our residencies and fellowships.

Thank you to my shadowing students and residents. You have enriched my practice and continue to help me grow as a physician.

Jules Lipoff is a clinical associate professor (adjunct) at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University. He practices at Advanced Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, a private practice in Manayunk/Roxborough.