Hidden Curriculum in Clinical Teaching

This resource is designed to be completed in just 3-5 minutes. Click on the numbered boxes to reveal practical tips and advice related to each step.

Audience: Faculty who teach medical students and/or residents.

This QTip defines and highlights examples of the hidden curriculum (HC) in clinical teaching and encourages educators to reflect on how these implicit messages influence learners. Through intentional self‑reflection, faculty can identify which elements of the HC align with their values and should be reinforced and which may need to be reconsidered.

Resources:

MD Undergraduate Program: Student Affairs, MDUP Counsellors, Health and Wellbeing Resources
Postgraduate Medical Education Program: UBC Resident Counselling & Peer Support Office (RCAPS)

References:

Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, 2010. The future of Medical Education in Canada (FMEC): A collective vision for MD education. www.afmc.ca/fmec
Hafferty FW. Beyond curriculum reform: confronting medicine’s hidden curriculum. Acad Med. 1998;73(4):403-407. Doi:10.1097/00001888-199804000-00013
Abed N, Kolomitro K. Part II: The Hidden Curriculum in Health Care Education – A faculty guide: a guide for teaching in clinical settings [Internet]. Faculty Development, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen’s University. Available from: https://healthsci.queensu.ca/source/The_Hidden_Curriculum.pdf
Weissmann PF, Branch WT, Gracey CF, Haidet P, Frankel RM. Role modeling humanistic behavior: learning bedside manner from the experts. Acad Med. 2006;81(7):661-667. Doi:10.1097/01.ACM.0000232423.81299.fe