Are the teachers teaching? Measuring the educational activities of clinical faculty.

As the teaching activities of medical school faculty are given greater emphasis, medical schools must find a way to recognize and reward excellence in teaching. In order to properly evaluate teaching, the authors developed an instrument for measuring the various teaching activities of their faculty. The Relative Value Scale in Teaching weights all teaching activities according to labor intensity, preparation time, level of responsibility, and educational value. The scale quantifies levels of teaching and allows comparison among diverse teaching activities. This complements qualitative measures of teaching and can enhance participation in educational programs as well as recognition of educators.