What Makes the Best Educator? A Qualitative Analysis of Emergency Medicine Resident Perspectives

Abstract

Background

Effective clinical educators are essential to emergency medicine (EM) residency training, and the pace and dynamics of the emergency department require them to have a unique educational skillset. Most existing literature defining educational excellence in EM reflects educator rather than learner perspectives, and there is limited contemporary, resident-centered work that describes the teaching practices of exceptional EM educators. This study aimed to identify EM resident-defined practices that characterize the “best” EM educators.

Methods

We performed a qualitative thematic analysis to analyze open-ended survey responses from residents at a large, urban, 3 year EM residency program. All 78 residents were invited to complete an anonymous survey containing a single prompt to describe their best EM educator. Data were collected over 72 h in March 2025. Three investigators performed iterative open coding and applied constant comparative methods to identify themes. Postgraduate year (PGY) class was unblinded after analysis to explore patterns by training level.

Results

Thirty-eight residents responded (48.7% response rate). Five themes emerged: (1) growth orientation, (2) psychological safety, (3) shares clinical burden, (4) educational expertise, including optimal timing and setting of teaching, knowledge translation, and fostering independence; and (5) clinical expertise, including content expertise and role modeling. In a secondary descriptive analysis, PGY-1s emphasized psychological safety, growth-oriented feedback, and autonomy, while PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents prioritized approachability, timely teaching, shared workload, and clinical expertise.

Conclusions

Residents identified outstanding EM educators as growth-oriented, supportive, skilled teachers and expert clinicians, with preferences varying by training level. These themes may guide faculty development, coaching, and feedback as well as future studies on resident-centered educator training.