Designing a customized model of effective clinical teaching for an undergraduate medical program: protocol for a mixed-method study

Background: Clinical teaching is a vital component of medical education. However, evidence indicates that clinical teaching still confronts numerous challenges, as its quantity and quality are not always desirable. The need for improvement has been emphasized in the planning, teaching, and evaluation of clinical education. Therefore, this study aims to design a customized model of effective clinical teaching for the undergraduate medical program. Methods: A mixed-method study will be conducted in three consecutive phases. The first phase, using a grounded theory approach, explores the lived experiences of clinical teachers and undergraduate medical students concerning effective clinical education in an undergraduate medical program. In the second phase, a systematized review will be conducted on secondary data sources to fill theoretical categories and to extend the theory emerging from the qualitative phase. Finally, in the third phase, a model of clinical teaching will be developed for an undergraduate medical program. Discussion: The findings of this study will offer new insights into the clinical teaching paradigm in developing curriculum, setting policies, designing suitable undergraduate medical-clinical education programs, and developing effective teaching methods. These results will contribute to understanding the challenges of clinical education in an undergraduate medical program.