What makes an effective clinical trainer?

This study aims at identifying characteristics and behavioral patterns associated with the ideal tutor in different medical fields. This study is expected to answer two questions, first is effective supervision and how can this be determined? And secondly, what skills and qualities do effective supervisors need? An English limited search was performed in many databases including MEDLINE, BEI, and International ERIC for the last 20 years using many search items to identify characteristics cited in the literature as being important for effective clinical teaching. One hundred thirty two articles identified the review excluded literature relating to research supervision. Findings revealed that some of these investigations relied on the tutor's point of view, others on a resident's or a student's opinion or both. Descriptors for effective clinical teachers were categorized into three main classes: (a) teaching skills (i.e. well-prepared, practices evidence-based medicine and believes in its principles and applications, effective, accessible, and provides and accepts both positive and negative feedback), (b) personality (i.e. enthusiastic, respectable, sincere, confident, humanitarian, and compassionate), and (c) attitude (i.e. health advocate, good role-model, encouraging, non-judgmental, aware of learners' growth, well-groomed, and appropriately dressed). Other factors such as the trainer's health (i.e. professional, personal, and spiritual fulfillment) and his/her scholarly activities were also identified.