A demonstrated model for effective instructional skill improvement in the medical clinical sciences is described. A two-year project was funded by the National Fund for Medical Education to design and implement a program to assist house staff in the improvement of clinical instruction. A total of 148 medical residents were surveyed about their attitudes toward skill improvement, their own perceived instructional strengths and weaknesses, and time commitments given to specific clinical activities in their jobs. The five-week program that followed involved 20 students (self-selected) in 20 hours of independent and group study. The residents were videotaped in a typical clinical teaching session as a pretest. A participant guide is given to the residents in a first group meeting. In the second week, microteaching is introduced. Subsequently, an observation and rating technique is presented to aid the residents in becoming skilled observers of teaching techniques. The residents then participate in two 10-minute microteaching experiences that reviewed by themselves, the faculty, and fellow residents in the program. The overall objective of the program was to increase each resident's awareness of the importance of his teaching role, and the results are seen as encouraging. (MSE)