E-MedNews 19, September 2009



Contents

July Graduation 2009
QABME approval of Module 3
New accommodation at Shrewsbury
Careers Fair in September
Staff walking raises over £900
Top HEA award for Keele Certification in Medical Education
The Merck Sharp and Dohme Prize for Postgraduate Medicine
The Mike Fisher Award for Excellence on the MMedSci
New bus service
Year 5 elective photo competition
Graduation Ball 2009
Summer Internships at Yale
Student Society news
Qualifications
Tomorrow's Doctors update
Society for Academic Primary Care Northern Regional Meeting
Introducing the Placements Team
Research Grants for the Medical School team
Summer Open Days at Medical School
Staff changes
New Maternity and Cancer Centres at UHNS
Edinburgh ASME experiences

July Graduation 2009


 

This year 88 delighted students graduated from Keele School of Medicine. To start off their medical careers, they have all ventured into well-earned first jobs across the country. 40 of them have stayed within the West Midlands Deanery to work in hospitals in North Staffs, Stafford , Shrewsbury , Birmingham and Telford .
Head of School, Professor Richard Hays, said “We were all pleased to see so many successful medical students and their families here at Keele for the graduation ceremony. They've worked hard for five years and are graduating with a firm grounding in medicine, which puts them in a great position for taking on their Foundation training jobs. It's great to see so many of them staying to work in the local area. We congratulate them all on their achievements and wish them long and successful medical careers.”

 

QABME approval of Module 3

 

The General Medical Council's Quality Assurance of Basic Medical Education (QABME) cycle for Keele in the 2008-09 academic year was completed with a meeting on 13th July with the QABME team to discuss the draft of their final report.  The news is again very pleasing.  The team is happy with our implementation of Modules 1 and 2 and have approved Module 3 for implementation as from September 2009.    The first visit for the next cycle will be January 21 2010 , when the focus will be on the implementation of Module 3 and the development of Modules 4 and 5.  Many thanks are again due to all the students, academic staff and NHS staff who took part in the QABME team visit.  More details will be available after the report is approved by the General Medical Council in about 2 months time, when the full report, and a response from the School, will be accessible online.


Richard Hays

 

New accommodation at Shrewsbury

The first group of Keele year 5 students moved into the new accommodation on the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital Site during August. Students are all delighted with their new living facilities. The flats are located close to the hospital and not far from Shrewsbury town centre. The rest of the accommodation will be completed by the end of January 2010 enabling all 96 students to live in modern and comfortable flats or town houses during their placements.

 

 

“The flats are easily the highest standard of student living I have experienced so far. It's like being a real grown up!” Caroline Prentice Yr 5

The new Learning Centre at Shrewsbury, shown below, is also now open.


Careers Fair in September

On Saturday 26th September at the CEC, Keele's medical student career committee is running a careers fair. It's open to everyone interested in a career in medicine, including those thinking of studying medicine, current medical students, and foundation doctors.

 

You'll be able to

  • Hear from doctors from different medical specialties
  • Meet book companies offering student discounts
  • Meet colleagues, other students and hospital staff
  • Meet representatives from the British Medical Association.

Drop in any time between 10.45am and 4pm . You don't need to register and it's free to attend.

Staff walking raises over £900

To raise money for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice, staff from Keele walked 10 miles around Stoke-on-Trent in the middle of a rainy Friday night, in the Midnight to Sunrise Walk. Many thanks to everyone who sponsored them. The Douglas Macmillan Hospice does great work for patients with terminal diseases, both palliative and respite care, and for their families. They rely completely on charity donations.



From left to right, back: Teresa Bridgwood, Nikki Crouch, Sarah Jones, Sarah Philpott.  Front: Kirsty Hartley and Joanne Hancock

Staff also raised money for Cancer Research UK recently by completing the Race for Life, once again in the rain!

Top HEA award for Keele Certificate in Medical Education

The Certificate in Medical Education awarded by Keele Department of Postgraduate Medicine has been recognised by the Higher Education Academy as conferring Fellowship status. In recognition of their commitment to enhancing the student learning experience, all graduates of the Certificate programme will be invited to join the HEA as Fellows. The HEA Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre for Medicine and Dentistry work closely together to enhance teaching and learning in health, as part of the HEALTH Network. The HEA also supports the development and maintenance of teachers through its' Professional Standards Framework.

The Certificate in Medical Education consists of four modules. The course uses a variety of teaching methods that include small group teaching, peer observation, completion of a portfolio and personal study. The overall aim of the course is to improve the quality and effectiveness of clinical teaching and medical education through:

  • Understanding and fostering a learner-centred approach
  • Relating this to the requirements of professional education for clinical competence
  • Developing practical, generic skills in teaching and assessment, underpinned by an understanding of educational theory
  • Promoting reflective practice in education and clinical practice, using work-based assignments and a portfolio
  • Promoting evidence-based education
  • Providing recognised academic qualifications to enhance the status of and promote professionalism amongst medical teachers.

Dr Clive Gibson, the Course Director is delighted by the award. ‘It is fitting recognition for those Health Care Professionals who commit additional time to the validation of their teaching practice'. Over the past few years the Keele Certificate, Diploma and Masters programme has gone from strength to strength with student numbers steadily increasing. The programme is designed with busy professionals in mind. It has a modular structure with a blended approach to teaching and learning using traditional techniques alongside a web-based element".

 

The Merck Sharp and Dohme Prize for Postgraduate Medicine

 

Dr Arbab Nazir was announced as the 2009 winner of the new Merck Sharp and Dohme Prize.
This prize is awarded at the end of each academic year to the highest scoring student on any individual taught module in the Masters in Medical Science course (MMedSci). 
 

The Mike Fisher Award for Excellence on the MMedSci

 

To mark the recent retirement of Dr Mike Fisher as Area Director for Staffordshire and Shropshire (a West Midlands Strategic Health Authority appointment in their Postgraduate School of General Practice), Keele School of Medicine has inaugurated a new prize for postgraduates.

Dr Fisher was the driving force behind the Strategic Health Authority's decision to commission the Keele MMedSci as the basis of General Practice Vocational Training in North Staffordshire and through a contract with them, Keele receives funding for between 17 and 24 students every year.  On his retirement, Dr Fisher transferred sizeable additional funds to continue to support General Practice Training through the Keele MMedSci for the next 5 years.   Dr Catherine Westoby was the 2009 winner of this new Award.

 

The prize will be awarded annually at the end of the academic year to a student who has successfully passed the dissertation stage and will graduate with a full MMedSci.

 

New Bus Service

 

From September, there will be a term-time bus service on weekdays between Keele University and the Clinical Education Centre, stopping at Newcastle Bus Station en route in both directions.  It starts on Friday 18 September through to 18 December inclusive, then 4 January to 1 April, then 19 April to 16 July. This service has been subsidised and this is therefore a pilot year to establish if there is enough usage to justify a longer term arrangement. 

The fare is £1.10 each way between Keele and the CEC. This existing 85A D&G bus goes beyond Keele through Madeley to Crewe , so passengers can go further than Keele if they wish.  Times of the service will be:

Buses depart Keele Village for the CEC at

8.23am , 12.08pm , 1.08pm , 5.13pm

 

Buses depart Keele University Student Union for the CEC at

8.26am , 12.11pm , 1.11pm , 5.16pm

 

Buses depart Newcastle Bus Station for the CEC at

8.42am , 12.24pm , 1.24pm

 

Buses depart the CEC for Newcastle Bus Station, Keele University and Keele Village at

8.25am , 8.50am , 12.30pm , 1.30pm , 5.15pm


As car parking is difficult at both UHNS and Keele campuses, the general advice is don't use your car - use the bus service or lose it. 

 

Year 5 Elective Photo Competition


Rachel Lewis in year 5 took the winning photo in the Elective Photo Competition this year. Staff were asked to vote for their favourite once they had viewed the entries on display in the staff room. Rachel won £50 with her stunning photo showing “Cannulating in Mbusa” .



Graduation Ball 2009


Final year students celebrated with a grand ball at the end of May in Crewe Hall. Nicola Farrington reported “With the original event planned for Trentham Gardens it was a last minute change of venue that proved to be a winning decision by the committee members. It was a fabulous event with an astounding range of beautiful dresses and many charming men turned out for the event.

Pre-dinner Champagne and a professional photographer kept people entertained until it was time to make our way through to the suite where an exquisite dinner and wine was to be served.

A fabulous band known as the Funky Doctors then went on to entertain us throughout the night playing everything from old school classics to funky new beats.  In short, what a wonderful night to remember! A massive thank you to all those on the committee, job well done!”

Summer Internships at Yale

This year four medical students were selected to attend the Yale Bioethics Summer Programme during the project option that forms part of Year 4. The summer school attracts a range of students from around the world, including students of philosophy, theology, medicine, nursing and law.

A range of bioethical topics are discussed in lectures and seminars, all led by well recognised experts. This year's topics included stem cell research, end of life care, robots in medicine, human disability, moral distress, the preservation of fertility, and treating drug addiction in prisons. Classroom teaching is supplemented with field trips, which included a Connecticut hospice, Monsanto (a centre for biotechnology that researches and exports genetically modified corn), and the Hastings Center (a well-known bioethics institute at Garrison, New York, and publishers of the Hastings Center Report) .

We travelled to New Haven, Connecticut at the end of May. The university campus is beautiful, with Gothic-style buildings set within tree-lined streets and well-maintained gardens. Our accommodation was less salubrious but a feeling of camaraderie was generated between the interns and there was always something happening at evenings and weekends, including watching Fourth of July fireworks from a rooftop. Despite being from diverse backgrounds we shared many interests, and conversations that began in class frequently continued in cafes around town. 

The experience has given me the ability to think about and assess situations from a wider perspective. I have had the honour to meet and work with some inspirational people, and I am grateful to Keele for giving me this unique opportunity for personal and professional development.

Details of the programme can be seen online at: http://www.yale.edu/bioethics/summerinternship.shtml#top


The above photo was taken at the Hastings Center for Bioethics at Garrison , New York . From left to right: Anna McNamara, Vanessa Jackson, Anthony Marfeo, Jaazzmina Hussein, and Carrie Broughton. The 4 female students are now in year 5 at Keele. Anthony is a Yale exchange student who was here studying last year.   Carrie Broughton

Student Society News  

Keele Surgical Society ( KSS ) is affiliated with the Royal College of Surgeons and is for anyone interested in surgery, anatomy, learning practical skills and supplementing their curriculum. It's not just aimed at people who want to become surgeons! It is for anyone who is interested, whatever degree programme they are on.   KSS runs suturing and anatomy workshops, day trips to exhibitions and museums, lectures once a month from local doctors and a summer ball. There are also opportunities to take part in competitions and get involved in presenting surgical cases.   The Society has several events coming soon including, on 23rd September, a Cardiothoracic lecture by Mr Satur, entitled "So what will you find in this treasure chest?", 7-8pm North Staffordshire Medical Institute.  

Lecture topics before Christmas include Plastic and Neurosurgery. There will be a trip to The Royal College of Surgeons Hunterian Museum in London in December, along with suturing and anatomy sessions throughout the semester. In the New Year Dr West will be lecturing on Interventional Radiology –“Why you don't have to be a surgeon to do surgery”.  

Members of the KSS will be at the Medical Careers Fair on September 26th and Freshers during September 28th and 29th for people to sign up to the society. Each member will receive a promotional code to get money off books at Medicprint. There will also be the chance to win anatomical wall charts and an anatomy core text book worth £35!   Join KSS on facebook: Keele Surgical Society 2009-2010 Email: keelesurgicalsociety@live.co.uk    

Keele Medics Society (KMS) elections are currently taking place. Once the new commitee is elected it will be given the responsibility to organise the first event – a pyjama pub crawl! The other traditional events which will follow are a school disco and Christmas ball.   New students joining in September are made aware of KMS through a presentation by the committee and other media such as Facebook and emails. Watch out for the latest Facebook group set up by the new committee.  

Qualifications

Well done to the following who have achieved new qualifications recently:

Kirsty Hartley (Postgraduate Certificate in Leadership and Management)

Julia Molyneux and Jenny Banks (ILM Level 2 in Team Leading)

Adrian Molyneux (Microsoft Certified Professional Developer).

Tomorrow's Doctors


by Professor Peter Rubin, Chair of the GMC 

Keele University is now buzzing with aspiring doctors taking their first steps towards a career in medicine. As Chair of the General Medical Council (GMC) I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to medicine. 

Today's undergraduates – tomorrow's doctors – will see huge changes in medical practice. Becoming a doctor today is about so much more than understanding how the body works. Doctors must be excellent communicators, leaders and negotiators. They must understand a condition in relation to a patient's environment, beliefs and outlook. Not to mention keeping abreast of advances in sciences and clinical practice, new health priorities, rising expectation among patients and the public and changing societal attitudes.

It would be easy to be overwhelmed by such major expectations. To help medical students shoulder this enormous responsibility, the GMC has rewritten its guidance for medical schools to ensure the curriculum includes more time to apply their medical knowledge in hospitals and surgeries before they graduate.   Further information about the guidance can be found by following the link. 

The guidance, Tomorrow's Doctors will require medical schools and the NHS to work together to organise ‘student assistantships'. These are new placements undertaken before a student enters ‘Foundation 1' as a trainee doctor.  They will help students become more familiar with work in a hospital or community setting and to understand practical tasks such as filling in a prescription form or ordering a blood sample.

Students will be able to assist a junior doctor and closely shadow their supervisor, become familiar with the workplace and undertake supervised procedures.

The guidance also includes a new list of specific clinical procedures like administering a local anaesthetic which students must master before they graduate. This list ensures students are able to take advantage of advances in medical technology that allows increasingly lifelike training mannequins to be used for clinical procedures, as well as developing skills on real patients with consent and under supervision.

New medical graduates must be scholars and scientists as well as practitioners and professionals and so Tomorrow's Doctors also places further emphasis on learning the hard sciences such as anatomy, genetics and molecular biology.

Basic medical knowledge and skills, while fundamentally important, are no good in isolation. The best doctors are continually updating their knowledge, they are prepared to ask for help and they can communicate complex, life changing decisions to patients who can often be vulnerable and scared. 

If you take one piece of advice with you to medical school, make it this: never stop asking questions. Whether medical student or consultant, never be afraid to ask how to undertake a new procedure, or get a second opinion. Always make time to update your knowledge. It is impossible to prepare students for every eventuality in their career but it is possible to lay strong foundations and the rest is up to you.

Society for Academic Primary Care Northern Regional Meeting

Keele University School of Medicine and the Division of Primary Care, University of Liverpool will be hosting the 2009 SAPC Northern Regional Meeting at the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal. The conference will give an opportunity to:

  • Develop and discuss research proposals
  • Debate important issues affecting primary care
  • Present ideas and innovations in undergraduate or postgraduate teaching
  • Network with colleagues.

The conference is suitable for everyone, from medical students to professors. It takes place from 1pm on Thursday 26 th November to 1pm on Friday 27 th November. Full details are now available on the events section of the SAPC website at www.sapc.ac.uk and on the conference website at www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ms/sapc_conference.htm

Please contact Sue Cartwright with any enquiries on 01782 734667, s.cartwright@hfac.keele.ac.uk

Introducing the Placements Team 

The medical school's new Placements Administration Team, headed by Sarah Philpott, is responsible for the organisation and admin support of undergraduate GP and Non-GP community placements, clinical placements (at hospitals), incoming student electives and the processing of placement payments across the whole curriculum.

Whether the task is arranging placements with providers, communicating placement information to students, monitoring student attendance, or dealing with placement related queries, the team ensures that all student placements work like clockwork! 

If you have any queries about placements, please contact someone from the team who will be happy to help.

Sarah Philpott, Placements Co-ordinator

01782 734729 at Keele or 01782 556530 at UHNS

s.philpott@hfac.keele.ac.uk

Margaret Bourke, Placements Administrator (Community)

01782 734665 at Keele

m.e.bourke@hfac.keele.ac.uk

Ann Clowes, Placements Administrative Assistant

01782 734723 at Keele (Mon, Tue, Wed)

a.clowes@hfac.keele.ac.uk

 

Ann Clowes, Sarah Philpott and Margaret Bourke planning placements for 2009/10 

There are also 2 academic staff with key roles regarding placements. Helen Derbyshire is Undergraduate Placements Development Officer. She is responsible primarily for the “third sector” placements (typically voluntary, charity, community and statutory providers). She recruits new providers, develops existing providers and develops a broad range of placements across the curriculum in support of Clinical Skills, Individual Community and Population, Professional Developments and Curriculum Themes. 

Dr Simon Gay is a Lecturer in Academic Practice, Chair of the Placements Group, appraisals lead tutor, joint leader in the Experiential Learning Programme and deals with community liaison tutors. Please don't hesitate to contact Simon or Helen with any placement development enquiries.

 

Dr Simon Gay, Lecturer in Academic Practice

01782 734662

s.gay@hfac.keele.ac.uk

 

Helen Derbyshire, Placements Development Officer

01782 734671

h.derbyshire@hfac.keele.ac.uk

 

Research grants for the medical school team


Dr Paul Horrocks has been awarded £428,000 by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council for a New Investigator Award entitled "Identification, validation and therapeutic potential of cis-trans interactions that direct coordinated gene expression in Plasmodium falciparum".

The highly competitive New Investigator Awards are intended to support new University lecturers with a focus on supporting research potential in new principal investigators.

Plasmodium falciparum is the causative agent of the most severe form of human malaria, a disease with a devastating global impact. Dr Horrocks' research asks "how does the parasite control the molecular processes that turns its genes on and off during its life cycle?" The answer to this question has wide ranging implications not only for our understanding of this parasite's pathology but also may offer insights into how these processes differ between the parasite and its human host – differences that may be exploited in much needed new antimalarial drugs.

This three year study integrates both bioinformatics and laboratory based in vitro studies to develop and test hypotheses regarding the regulation of flow of genetic information, particularly the role of novel proteins, and their DNA targets, that initiate this process. This work will be carried out in collaboration with Dr. Manuel Llinás of Princeton University .

 

Dr Nikki Kuiper is part of a small consortium led by Professor Sally Roberts which has received a £484k programme grant from the arthritis research campaign (arc). The 5-year grant entitled 'cell therapy for osteoarthritis' will study the biology of repair, determine predictive factors for successful cell therapy and determine if cell therapy can (i) delay osteoarthritis and (ii) treat patients with extensive cartilage and bony defects characteristic of osteoarthritis.

Summer Open Days at Medical School

The two School of Medicine Open Days this summer attracted over 450 potential applicants and their families.

Visitors heard talks about the curriculum and admissions requirements and were then free to take a self-guided tour of the school. Staff and current students were on hand to answer questions and demonstrate how areas like the labs, anatomy resource room and IT suite are used during the course.

Most counties of England and Wales were represented, with visitors coming from as far afield as Cornwall , Pembrokeshire, Suffolk and North Yorkshire . Feedback was positive, with comments received about how welcoming and professional the staff and student helpers were.

“Very informative, with an excellent quality of information and communication. It was very helpful to have students on hand to answer enquiries and share their experiences of the course. Thanks!”

Both days were made possible by a fantastic team effort. Let's hope that plenty of the visitors apply for 2010 entry

Staff Changes

Congratulations to the following people who have all been appointed to new roles within the medical school:

Keele and UHNS -  

Professor Val Wass, Head of School of Medicine and Professor of Medical Education

Mr Robert Kirby, Hospital Dean at UHNS NHS Trust

Mrs Tracey Poyser, p/t Receptionist at Keele

Mr Richard George, Trainee IT/AV Technician (UHNS)

Mrs Margaret Bourke, Placements Administrator, Community (Keele)

Mrs Carol Dasey, Receptionist/Admin Assistant (CEC)

Mrs Tracey Meigh, p/t Receptionist/Admin Assistant (UGMS1)

Dr Eve Gale, p/t Teaching Fellow

Mrs Kim Parks, p/t Administrator (Keele)

Dr Alison Irvine, p/t Teaching Fellow

Dr Anhil Vaghmaria, p/t Teaching Fellow

Dr Milan Mehta, Teaching Fellow in General Practice

Dr Chris Buttanshaw, Senior Lecturer in Public Health

Dr Lucy Ambrose, Director of Clinical, Communication and Information Science Skills

Mr Nilesh Gurjar, Clinical Teaching Fellow, Surgery

Dr Ruth McEwen, Clinical Teaching Fellow, Medicine

Dr Laks Varadhan, Clinical Teaching Fellow, Medicine

Dr Indira Natarajan, Elderly Care Lead at UHNS

Dr Maggie Bartlett, Community Medical Education Co-ordinator for Shropshire and Co-lead for Module 1

Dr Alexander Clark, Co-lead for Module 2

Dr Sarah Hart, Lecturer in Bioscience

Mrs Katie Richardson, Placements Administrator (UHNS) 

Shrewsbury and Telford - 

Dr John Jones, Hospital Dean at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust

Dr Sarah Howdle, Support Tutor in Radiology (Telford)

Dr Jeffrey Bateman, Support Tutor in Medicine (Telford)

Dr Nigel Mike, Support Tutor, Medicine (Telford)

Dr Darren Warner, Support Tutor, Medicine (Telford)

Dr Mary Heber, Support Tutor, Medicine (Telford)

Mr Samuel Adjepong, Support Tutor, Surgery (Telford)

Stafford -  

Miss Melanie Cartlidge, Undergraduate Manager, South Staffordshire Campus

Mr Jonathan Wright, Administrator, South Staffs and Shropshire Health Trust

Dr Jude Joseph, Year 5 tutor

Miss Raghavan Vidya, Year 5 tutor

Mr Ashok Sinha, Year 5 tutor

Mr Rathinam Ravikumar, Year 5 tutor

Dr Georgy Jacob, Year 5 tutor

Dr Suranjan Mukherjee, Year 5 tutor

Dr Juli Crocombe, Psychiatry Lead at South Staffs and Shropshire

 

And we have to wish a sorry goodbye to:

Lynda Cook and Richard Emes

Nonah Dewey and Ken Pillay who have both retired recently.

New Maternity and Cancer Centres at UHNS


The new Maternity Centre at UHNS opened its doors at the end of April 2009. In a complex logistical exercise all the patients and staff were moved from the old building into the new Centre in just one day.

 

The last baby born in the old unit arrived just before 7.00pm and the first baby arrived in the new Centre just after 10.00pm ! The centre covers three floors. On the ground floor is a large, light and airy Reception to welcome patients and visitors. The Antenatal Clinic includes ultrasound scanning and has 6 consultation rooms and 4 scan rooms providing much more privacy than the curtained cubicles in the old building. Close by is the Early Pregnancy Unit with 4 consultation rooms. Each department also has its own separate counselling room.

 

On the first floor are the Midwife Birth Centre (the old Community Midwifery Unit) and two in-patient wards with 56 beds. The Midwife Birth Centre has 11 en-suite delivery rooms each with a hydrotherapy bath. Mums keep their room throughout their stay in hospital rather than moving to different places for different parts of the birth process. There is also a birthing pool with en-suite shower.

 

On the top floor is the maternity assessment unit and a delivery suite with 16 rooms. There are two integrated theatres and anaesthetic rooms with state of the art equipment.

 

The Neonatal unit is also on the top floor. This houses six intensive care cots, 4 high dependency cots, 13 special care cots and one isolation room. There are also six en-suite parent overnight stay bedrooms with kitchen and lounge facilities.

 

Just under 6,000 babies are born every year at UHNS. Around 1,500 of these are born in the Midwife Birth Centre. Around a quarter of a million babies were born during the 42 year life of the old maternity building.

 

The new Cancer Centre is housed on two floors. From the ground floor entrance is access to the Radiotherapy Department and the Brachytherapy Suite.

 

The Radiotherapy Department has four linear accelerators which use the most advanced technology currently available in the UK . The Cancer Centre also offers a new Brachytherapy service – high dose radiation for the treatment of gynaecological cancers. At the moment patients have to stay in hospital for 3 to 4 days to receive treatment but with this new service, they will be able to go home the same day.

 

The upper floor houses the new Chemotherapy Unit and the in-patient ward with 33 beds.

 

Edinburgh ASME Experiences

 

From 15-17 th July I attended the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh (www.asme.org.uk). It was the first time that I had attended the Association's annual meeting - indeed the first time that I had attended any such meeting with an “educational” focus. I found the experience extremely enjoyable and left with a number of thoughts and ideas that will shape my own practice.

Amongst the most interesting aspects of the meeting for me were a number of papers presented on the role of giving examination feedback- something that I found particularly relevant to my role as an academic support tutor in the school at Keele. Tony Lewis ( Peninsula Medical School ) presented the findings of their recent work on using motivational interviewing techniques with struggling students during the early years of their training. Initial results from the study are encouraging and suggest that such an approach can have a positive effect upon the students' academic performance. Nevertheless, the complexities of delivering feedback were highlighted in a paper delivered by Rakesh Patel ( Leicester ). The authors had conducted a study based upon the experiences of medical students who had failed the final examinations of their course. Evidence from a number of students suggested that they viewed “reassurance” from the faculty at earlier points in their career as a contributing factor to their poor final outcome.

 

The meeting also featured a talk from Professor Ronald Harden (creator of the OSCE) in which he reflected on his experiences of medical education over the past 40 years, and expressed his thoughts for the future of the field. Another particularly useful part of the meeting was a workshop on teaching “evidence based medicine” (EBM). The workshop showcased a new web based resource for teaching EBM to undergraduates that has been developed by British Medical Journal (BMJ) Learning in conjunction with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence ( NICE ). As a contributor to the workshop I have been invited to assist in its development over the coming months with a view to using the resource as part of our teaching of EBM at Keele.

 

Overall, perhaps what impressed me most about the meeting was the “collegial” atmosphere in which it was held and I would certainly recommend future meetings of the Association for colleagues with an interest in medical education.

 

Stuart McBain, Teaching Fellow