Even if unaware of these Latin roots, all doctors are teachers. Some physicians may carry that literal title during interactions with students, residents, fellows, and peers. However, all physicians are teachers for their patients, and much of the success of that relationship depends on effective teaching. Given the ubiquity of this role, it is ironic that few physicians are formally trained to be educators. Moreover, in a discipline that generally requires that research of the highest standard be used to guide professional activities, the evidence base for medical education remains dominated by anecdote, limited observational studies, and intermediate outcomes.^1-3

There are well-recognized barriers to improving research in medical education,² including methodological challenges, curricular constraints, and financial pressures combined with limited funding. Study designs can parallel those used in clinical science,¹ but there are unique problems in the educational milieu, including contamination of randomized groups and the (fortunately) unavoidable tendency of students to supplement any interventions with their own preferred methods of learning.

To continue JAMA’s regular focus on this important topic, our next annual theme issue on medical education will be published September 7, 2005. We invite authors to submit manuscripts related to all aspects of the educational endeavor. We are interested in demonstrations of educational research methodologies that have successfully overcome the barriers, and we are particularly seeking studies that either incorporate the most relevant educational outcomes or address better techniques for their measure. Specifically, while many studies focus on the educational process, learner satisfaction, or demonstration of skills within a study setting, far more challenging is a measure of the effects on the delivery and quality of health care. Yet that is the ultimate goal of medical education, and that is the type of rigorous outcome study that will receive highest priority for publication. A research analogy is the difference between basic science studies, which measure intermediate outcomes, and clinical studies with applied patient-oriented outcomes.

Potential topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the impact of changes in resident work hours on the education of students as well as residents, the effectiveness of training physicians to be teachers, successful models for providing incentives to faculty for teaching, and the use of interdisciplinary approaches to learning. However, we will consider all original research papers, scholarly commentaries, and special communications addressing medical education, including randomized trials, high-quality observational studies, evidence-based reviews, and presentation of novel methodologies. The effects of medical education at the student, patient, and societal level are all appropriate for consideration. Manuscripts received by April 1, 2005, will have the best chance for acceptance in this theme issue. All submitted manuscripts will undergo JAMA’s usual rigorous editorial evaluation and peer review. Authors should consult the JAMA Instructions for Authors⁴ for guidelines on manuscript submission and preparation.

Editorials represent the opinions of the authors and THE JOURNAL and not those of the American Medical Association.