Tips for teaching skin procedures to family medicine residents.

Background: As the incidence of skin cancer is growing and access to specialty care is becoming more limited in most settings, family physicians must take on an increasing role in detecting and managing skin cancer. Unfortunately, most family physicians are not adequately trained to perform the skin biopsies or excisions needed to do this. Aims and methods: Drawing on their own experience and the available literature, the authors present practical tips for clinical educators to teach skin procedures more effectively. Some of the tips are best applied in an academic centre with multiple learners; others are applicable to all settings. Conclusions: Family medicine training programs have a responsibility to ensure that their learners gain adequate expertise to diagnose skin cancers. This includes the ability to perform skin biopsies. These tips will help educators and institutions training family medicine residents design more effective ways to teach skin procedures.