Teaching in five minutes.
The one-minute preceptor and feedback that lands: teach one point well, in the seconds you have on rounds.
Reviewed July 2026 · verify against current guidelines
The Frame
One point, well made.
Teach in the flow
You will never have time for a lecture on rounds. You do have time to teach one thing well: the reasoning behind the plan.
Good teaching
- Targets one point, not the whole topic.
- Teaches the why, so it transfers to the next patient.
- Meets the learner where they are.
Aim for one memorable point per patient, not a mini-lecture.
The One-Minute Preceptor
Five microskills.
After they present, in about a minute
| Get a commitment | Make them decide: what do you think is going on? |
|---|---|
| Probe reasoning | Ask why: what led you there? Surface the thinking. |
| Teach one rule | Give a single general principle they can reuse. |
| Reinforce | Name what they did well, specifically. |
| Correct one thing | Fix the highest-yield error; guide the next step. |
Commit, probe, teach, reinforce, correct. One learner, one minute.
Feedback That Lands
Specific, timely, private.
Make it stick
- Ask first: how do you think that went? Then tell, then ask again.
- Anchor to observed behavior, not personality.
- Be specific: name the action and its effect.
- Give it soon, and in private for anything corrective.
Praise in public, correct in private. Feedback is a gift, not a verdict.
Teaching Traps
Where teaching backfires.
- Pimping to expose the learner, not to teach.
- Teaching everything, so nothing sticks.
- Vague praise: 'good job' teaches nothing.
- Correcting in front of the team.
- Feedback so late the moment is gone.
Questions should open thinking, not trap it. Teach to lift, not to test.
Sources
Verify against current guidelines and local protocol before acting.
- Neher JO et al. A five-step microskills model of clinical teaching (the one-minute preceptor). J Am Board Fam Pract 1992;5:419-424.
- Ende J. Feedback in clinical medical education. JAMA 1983;250:777-781 (specific, timely, behavior-based).
- Resident-as-teacher literature: brief bedside teaching and the 30-second chalk talk.
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