# Training needs and perceptions on teaching in primary care from doctors who teach in primary care in Peru

## TL;DR

Peruvian primary care doctors who teach want more training to improve their teaching skills and have specific educational needs.

## Contribution

Identifies the training needs and perceptions of primary care teachers in Peru using mixed methods.

## Key findings

- Most teachers are family doctors with formal university contracts.
- Teachers dedicate about 13 hours/week to teaching but few have recent teaching training.
- Four key dimensions for teaching improvement were identified: willingness to teach, teaching family medicine, teacher-student relationships, and teaching organization.

## Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended.

Introduction

Medical training should include a strong emphasis on primary health care. There is a need for primary care teaching centres and teachers who can provide excellent instruction in primary health care (PHC).

Objectives

This investigation explores the characteristics of the doctors who teach in PHC in Peru, their educational needs and their perceptions of their teaching.

Method

Using a mixed method approach we ran an online questionnaire on the educational needs and focus groups which explored the challenges, problems and skills required for teaching in PHC.

Results

66 teachers from 10 regions answered the questionnaire: 59 (89.4%) were family doctors; 76,7% had a formal university contract; they dedicated an average of 12.9 hours/week to teaching and 9 (13,6%) had had some training in teaching during the last 5 years. In the focus groups they showed interest in developing their teaching skills and 4 dimensions were defined: willingness to teach; teaching family medicine; teacher-student relationships; the organization of the teaching.

Conclusion

The PHC teachers in Peru have great interest in teaching and a need for training in teaching skills.