Kian Habashi (Medicine) presented a poster, "The Need for Teaching Skills Training During Pre-Clerkship Years of Medical School," at the 26th Annual Graduate and Professional Student Research Forum at UNLV.

The study by Habashi, in collaboration with Kencie Ely and Rosalie Kalili (both Medicine), aimed to integrate teaching competencies into the pre-clerkship curriculum, aligning medical student perspectives on necessary teaching skills with our institution's Problem-based Learning (PBL) Learning Issues (LI) rubric and the Residents as Teachers (RATs) curricular objectives. Teaching is essential in medicine, not only for patient care but also as a competency expected during clerkships where students prepare and present educational topics. A qualitative needs assessment survey distributed among first to fourth-year students at Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine assessed attitudes towards teaching skills in medical training. The analysis identified 27 distinct teaching skills, with four—Complexity, Feedback, Engagement, and Utility—matching elements in the LI rubric and corresponding with RATs objectives. These findings confirmed alignment between the teaching skills valued by medical students, the LI rubric, and RATs objectives. This project's insights could lead to further research into resident attitudes toward teaching skills and assist other institutions in developing preclinical curriculums aligned with student-reported competencies and resident teaching expectations.