Motivation of clinical teachers at Schools of Sports Medicine:

Introduction


This was the first study to focus on what factors may motivate clinical teachers in Sports Medicine Schools. These findings would be of particular interest at a time of decreasing resources for Schools of Sports Medicine to reward teaching.


Material and methods

A total of 32 clinical teachers (13 females [40%]; 19 males [60%]) volunteered for this observational, cross-sectional study. Conventional Q-methodology so that participants rank-ordered 69 numbered statements according to the extent to which these reflected their motivation to teach at School of Sports Medicine. The sorted statements were factor-analyzed to provide clusters of similar experiences.


Results

In accordance with recommended practice, two factors emerged: factor 1 “I teach for helping others” included 23 (72%) participant's sorts (13 males; 10 females) whereas factor 2 “I teach for improving myslef” included just 9 (28%) participants (6 males; 3 females). The statement that received the highest average score for factor 1 was “I want to help my students become good doctors”. Regarding factor 2, the statement that received the highest average score was “I teach because of the intellectual stimulation”.


Conclusion

A ranked-pool of factors that motivate clinicians to teach in Schools of Sports Schools has been proposed. By identifying them, these factors can be reinforced by motivational strategies at Schools of Sports Medicine in order to enhance teacher cooperation and compliance, thereby reducing drop-out rates.