Edition 18, June 2009



Contents

Moving on
Student of the Year Award Winner
Hospital Orchestra
Congratulations to Paul
So you still want to be a doctor?
Community First Responders
Medical School Musical
Thanksgiving Service
Staff vs Students Football Match
Body Worlds Exhibition
Yale Appointment for Keele Lecturer
 Welcome, congratulations and goodbye
Book reviews
Keele Surgical Society Summer Ball

          

Moving on

As you should have heard by now, I will be returning to Australia at the end of the year.  I have enjoyed my time at Keele and the main reasons for returning are about family things.  We are a long way from the generations above and below and feel we need to be closer after 4 years away.  The medical school is in a strong position.  The re-structure to fit the Keele 2006 management structure is largely over and we now have a strong team running very professional undergraduate and postgraduate sections.  In the undergraduate section, the Manchester validated course is being implemented well, as evidenced by the recent review by Manchester University .  The GMC is very happy with the development of the new curriculum, which is about to commence its third year.  We continue to have strong competition for undergraduate student places.  In the postgraduate section, the re-structure and re-alignment of courses is proceeding well and our flagship courses (Medical Education, Medical Science and Biomedical Engineering) are doing well.  I am sure that the School is in a strong position to deal with a transition at Head of School level.

I remain very committed to seeing Keele do well.  I have given longer than usual notice to ensure that a new Head can be recruited in time to overlap with my time.  Until I leave I remain very busy with Keele management and leadership.  I will be available up until the end of January to advise on the GMC accreditation process and after that will continue some involvement from a distance as well as a couple of visits a year until the new course has graduated its first cohort of junior doctors.  I will start some work at my next University later this year, but will be back and forth until I have completed my commitments here.

 

The new post is at Bond University on the Gold Coast - a picture of the beach area is shown here.  This is a small university and I will combine the roles of faculty Dean and PVC for Learning & Teaching.  This is a direction in which I want to move as the next stage in my career.  I will keep the school posted on the transition arrangements once we know who will follow and when he or she will commence.

Richard Hays
Head of Keele University School of Medicine
 

Student of the Year Award


Sam Creavin

Sam Creavin was recently announced as the 2009 winner of the prestigious Neil and Gina Smith Student of the Year Award. The 5th year medical student at Keele is the first in his family to go to university.

Sam's degree in Medicine has included a year's intercalation during which time he obtained an MPhil, the first student at Keele to achieve this. He has performed particularly well academically, gaining "Best Overall Performance" in every progress test over the last four years. He has had work from his MPhil accepted for publication and has presented at conferences nationally and internationally.

In addition to his strong academic performance, Sam has contributed both to Keele and to the wider community in an extensive range of extracurricular activities.

Locally, he has had involvement with Keele Marrow, a charity devoted to the development of bone marrow donation; he worked with the British Heart Foundation's "Heartstart" programme, teaching Basic Life Support in the community; and he was the founding chairman of Medsin Keele, which included the implementation of a ‘Teddy Bear Hospital', promoting simple public health messages in local schools and giving schoolchildren confidence in dealing with health professionals.

Sam impressed the interview panel with his academic achievements, his energy and his drive and commitment to making a lasting contribution to both the local and the wider community.

New hospital orchestra hits the high notes

In February, the University Hospital of North Staffordshire held an awards ceremony to celebrate successes in their recently-held photography competition. During the ceremony, the audience enjoyed the music of a newly-formed orchestra - the University Hospital Orchestra.

 Six months ago the University Hospital Orchestra had only five members but by Christmas numbers had increased to over twenty. The orchestra comprises members of the hospital trust and medical students under the conductorship of Mr Chris Satur, a consultant surgeon at the hospital. Members of the orchestra play a variety of instruments ranging from woodwind to strings and their repertoire includes pieces by Vaughn Williams and Leonard Bernstein. The orchestra has already given several successful concerts.

 
The UHO played for the city's Primary Care Trust's awards ceremony at Trentham Gardens in November. As a result of their success they were asked to give a carol concert in the hospital chapel. This proved to be a sell-out evening and a large audience enjoyed a selection of carols and popular classics. Special highlights of the evening were solos by violinist Harriet Lamb, a first year medical student and cellist Will Rieley, a junior doctor. Both soloists were accompanied on the piano by Colette Thompson, a junior doctor. Mr Satur and the orchestra are now looking forward to many more concerts.

Mr Satur aims to increase the orchestra's size and welcomes new members of any ability. The orchestra is particularly keen to augment its brass and string sections. Rehearsals take place at the City General Chapel on Thursday evenings at 6pm.


Congratulations to Paul

Dr Paul Horrocks has been awarded a Wellcome Trust Biomedical Vacation Scholarship for a project to evaluate magnetic nanoparticle-mediated delivery of DNA into the human malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. The £1440 stipend has been awarded to support a year 2 Keele Medical School Student - Srdjan Milicic - who will work in Paul's laboratory between June and August 2009. The Wellcome Trust indicates that "These awards provide promising undergraduates with hands-on experience of research during the summer vacation with the aim of encouraging them to consider a career in research".

So you still want to be a doctor?  

At the end of March, around 250 school pupils from as far afield as Belfast , Cornwall , Tonbridge, Weymouth and Sheffield visited Keele University School of Medicine to discover more about what it takes to become a doctor. From the many comments received, it's clear that it was a useful event, held in conjunction with the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM).  

“I hoped to make headway on the question of whether I want to pursue a career in medicine and I have certainly achieved that.”  

“It broadened my knowledge of medicine eg, how long it takes and what happens after medical school.”  

Delegates heard advice on choosing a career in medicine, future pathways they could opt for, and entry requirements. A year 5 student and a Foundation Year 1 doctor talked candidly about their experiences. During the afternoon, practical sessions saw groups of them measuring lung function and looking at how this relates to body size and gender. They carried out urine testing and discussed some of the conditions that can be indicated by doing this. Pupils checked their own blood pressure and blood oxygen levels. They also heard from GPs, an Emergency Medicine Consultant and a Surgeon about their careers. Throughout the day, current Keele medical students did a superb job of guiding everyone around and answering questions about what life is like during a medical degree course. Next year's RSM careers day is on Wednesday 17th March 2010 .  

 

 School pupils enjoying a lab session at the RSM Careers Day

New Director of Undergraduate Assessment

Dr Mark Cowling has been appointed as the Director of Assessment within Undergraduate Medicine at Keele. Until 1st September 2009 , Mark will split his academic time between the assessment director role and co-lead of Module 2 of the Keele curriculum. We aim to appoint a new co-lead for Module 2, who will overlap with Mark until September, after which Mark's academic time will be entirely devoted to assessment.   Mark's initial assessment priority will be working with the Module 3 team on development of assessment for that module.

Community First Responders

Keele Community First Responders are going from strength to strength with 7 newly-qualified responders ready to go on the road very soon.  Not only have they been attending the comprehensive training, they have also been fundraising. Helen Price, a 2 nd year medical student, recently headed up a production of "Medical School Musical" to raise money for the Responders.
 
The scheme has also been awarded a lottery grant to purchase a response car, which will be put into service responding to 999 calls on campus and the surrounding area in the coming weeks.  The team needs to continue the excellent fundraising efforts to maintain the car and purchase uniforms and equipment.
 
Keep an eye out for events, and if you would like to become involved in the scheme in any way, please email join@keelecfr.org.uk or visit the website at www.keelecfr.org.uk

David Rawlinson, 4 th year medical student

Medical School Musical


For one night only, medical students recently gave outstanding renditions in the most ridiculously talented performances of their careers, attempting to sing, dance and generally be funny for money. This entertaining new event raised £560 for the new Keele Community First Responder group (a total which will hopefully increase with future DVD sales)!

Will Power, Gene Poole, Charity Case, Mal Wise, Sharpay Disposals, Cindy Light, amongst other characters, sang their way through medical school, with a little help from the CFR Godmothers. When one of the finals examiners, Dr Ray Deography, collapsed during final year presentations, the team managed to successfully resuscitate him and win a prize of foundation placements for all...except Sharpay Disposals who would have got away with her evil ploy if it hadn't been for those pesky students....

Helen Price, 2nd year medical student

 

 
Medical School Musical, held to raise funds for Keele Community First Responders

Thanksgiving Service

This spring, in Keele University Chapel, Keele University School of Medicine held a Service of Thanksgiving in remembrance of the individuals who had donated their bodies for medical and scientific teaching, training and research in anatomy.
 
It was an opportunity for the public-spirited actions of the donors to be acknowledged by the community. The non-denominational service was attended by clergy, relatives and friends of the donors, as well as staff and medical students of the university. The Auxiliary Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham , the Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the University, the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent and the Mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme all participated in the service.

 The anatomy team would like to thank everybody who supported the occasion, on behalf of the School of Medicine and also on behalf of the friends and relatives of those who we remembered on the day. The service will be held every five years.

Staff vs Students Football Match


 
Despite a very well fought out match, staff at the medical school recently lost 5 - 3 against the students. Congratulations to all those who turned out to play. Last year the staff team won 2 – 0, so they need to get back to their winning form next time.
 

Students visit Body Worlds


 
In February, students from Keele Medical School (and members of Keele Surgical Society) visited Dr Gunther von Hagen's Body Worlds Exhibition at London 's O2 Arena. Dr von Hagen is famous among medical students and clinicians alike for his TV anatomy series. Around 60 students went on the trip which was organised by the committee of Keele Surgical Society.

The exhibition certainly lived up to expectations! It was incredible and I thoroughly recommend seeing it. The models are so intricate and captivating that it makes you see the anatomy of the body in a whole new light and with greater appreciation for its complexity. The human specimens were presented doing common activities such as playing sport, chess or painting which allowed the viewer to appreciate the importance of our anatomy for performing these activities. The dissection of a full sized giraffe and horse also proved a favourite! Thanks to the committee members of Keele Surgical Society for their help in organising this event.

Matthew Clarke, 4th year medical student & Keele Surgical Society Chair

Yale Appointment for Keele Lecturer


Dr Roger Worthington, Lecturer and Healthcare Law and Ethics Lead at Keele's School of Medicine , has been appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.

Over the last few years he has built up a student exchange programme between Yale and Keele for medical students doing research projects on ethics and health policy. Roger has a long-term affiliation, having been a member of the Yale Interdisciplinary Bioethics Centre since 1999. Yale University School of Medicine has recently recognised the contribution this work plays in the education of their students with an honorary position.

Roger is looking forward to exploring opportunities arising from this faculty post in the Department of General Internal Medicine and to fostering closer links with Keele. In June he will be addressing Yale Bioethics Summer Interns and giving his first talk at the new department, focusing on relations between cultural values, ethics and medical professionalism.

New Members of Staff

There have been several new staff appointments recently:

Helen Derbyshire is Placements Development Officer, responsible for recruiting new providers of placements, development support and has an ambassadorial role.

Maggie Bartlett is now a Lecturer in Academic General Practice, responsible for the Shropshire area and Module 2

Robert Jones is a Lecturer in Academic General Practice, responsible for the Newcastle-under-Lyme area and Module 3

Jane Gray is a General Practice Teaching Fellow, responsible for the delivery of teaching.

Congratulations go to…

Monte Gates on being promoted to Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine.

Kat Parkinson, Clinical Teaching Fellow based at the CEC, who is marrying Andrew in June.

Andrew Morris, on his sterling work covering Suzanne Whiteman's responsibilities as a Teaching Fellow until she returns late in the year.

Sarah Yardley, working on a PhD in Medical Education at Keele, who has been awarded an Association of Medical Educators Small Grant (2009). These are awarded annually to contribute towards research costs and hers is a contribution to the transcription costs of her PhD.  

and to all of the people who have new roles in the support team from the beginning of July:

Sarah Philpott, Placements Co-ordinator. You'll find more information from Sarah about placements in the next issue of MedNews.

Gemma Tellwright, Reception/Facilities Co-oordinator at UHNS campus

Hazel Horridge, Teaching Support Co-ordinator

Hannah Reidy, Teaching Support Administrator at UHNS

Rachel Ansell, Teaching Support Administrator (part-time) at Keele

Jill Goodwin, Timetabling and Room Bookings Administrator at Keele.  

Well done to Janet McNicholas who has already started in her post of Admin Assistant in the Admissions Office. Formerly, Janet was covering the post during Rachel Ansell's maternity leave.   

Welcome to…

Phil King , who has been appointed as Undergraduate Administrator for Shropshire , based in Shrewsbury .

Carol Roberts who has been appointed to act as Wendy Jenkinson's deputy at Shrewsbury . 

Goodbye to…  

Caragh Brosnan who is leaving her post of Lecturer in Medical Education at Keele and taking up a post at King's College, London .
 

Book Reviews

George Guthrie: Soldier and Pioneer Surgeon by Raymond Hurt


 
Raymond Hurt follows George Guthrie's journey from a young boy through war service and medical training and to his contributions to the surgical world.   The book is divided into two parts; the first part describes his time as a civilian and then later as a soldier. The second briefly summarises each of his published works, some of which include interesting case histories.   This book comes highly recommended for students that are studying medical history or simply just want to read a well written book about one man's journey to becoming a surgeon. Raymond Hurt's research about this 19 th century pioneer is truly shown in this book. It is simple yet informative, well presented, with excellent diagrams to accompany the text. This book takes you on a tour of a surgeon that was well ahead of his time and who went on to become President of the Royal College of Surgeons.   The book is well referenced with a chronology of George ' s life at the beginning of the book. The case histories are very interesting and make you think about the advances of medical knowledge due to the dedication of someone like George.   If you want a good book to read then this one comes recommended, whichever year you may be in!   
 

Get Ahead in Medicine: 150 EMQs for Finals by David Capewell and Saran Shantikumar 


 
The book is written by junior doctors who have recently finished finals so know what knowledge is required to pass the examinations. This soft-back book is highly recommended as it acts as an excellent resource tool for medical students to practise for their examinations, and revise individual topics. It covers the medical curriculum well and the answers are more than sufficient and pitched at a good level for undergraduates.   The Get Ahead in Medicine book comprises ten practice papers that have fourteen questions divided into clearly marked topic headings and fully explained answers to them including succinct subject summaries. It appears that the answers are almost like a mini concise textbook in themselves. The questions range from easier to more challenging ones for those students aiming for honours. I shall definitely be using the book come exam time.   Both books this time were reviewed by Raj Gill, 3 rd year medical student, and are available from RSM Press http://www.rsmpress.co.uk/books.htm


Keele Surgical Society Summer Ball


 
 

On 6th May, Keele Surgical Society hosted the summer ball at Keele Hall. With 91 guests, a professional photographer and DJ, members of the UHNS orchestra and the surgical society games, the night was enjoyed by all!
 
The venue and the 3 course meal laid on by Keele Hall were excellent and it was a lovely way for students from all 5 years of medicine to relax and enjoy themselves before the pressures of the approaching exams. Thanks to all who helped to organise the event and all who attended.