Near-peer teaching in osteopathy clinical education

Osteopathy students learning in university clinics forms a substantial portion of the Australian students' clinical education program of activities and within them, junior students are encouraged to observe more senior students during their consultations with patients. This is near-peer teaching. However, scholarly analysis of this component of osteopathy education is underrepresented in the literature. For that reason, this commentary describes the underpinning educational theory and how near-peer clinical education is used in osteopathy in the Australian context. Some challenges and opportunities of this approach are discussed. Near-peer clinical education has the ability to enhance a junior and senior students' clinical education, to strengthen the notion of a community of learning, and also to develop a student's ability to educate others - potentially developing future clinical educators. Research into near-peer clinical education in the health professions is in its infancy worldwide and therefore presents an opportunity for osteopathy teaching institutions to not only evaluate its use, but contribute to the ongoing discourse.