These are some of the challenges in TL in the clinical status.
1. TL activities effectively conducted to a limited number of students. This is true for bedside rounds wherein not all students can be comfortably placed near the bedside to see and hear patient's examination and discussion. This can be improved through small group discussion in a conference room to maximize learning for many students.
2. Variety of clinical cases. In the clinical setting we cannot predict which type of patients will be admitted for clinical teaching to our students. More often than not, similar cases are admitted and students lose the exposure to a variety of clinical cases. Some strategies of institution include outside rotation to other institutions to augment exposure to more variety of cases. On the otherand as they always say, no 2 patients are the same even with the same diagnosis. There will always be new learnings from every patient. its just a matter or resourcefulness , creativity and critical thinking.
3. Patient privacy and fatigue. This is true for service or charity patients wherein several students in different year level would repeatedly ask for history and examine them. These patients are in the hospital because they are unwell and just wanted to rest and be comfortable. Strategies for this would be good communication skills, showing empathy and sincere concern and very important is the skill of listening to our patients on what they feel, their anxieties and frustrations about their current situations.