MedEd UNSW April 2021
A NEWSLETTER FOR MEDICINE AND HEALTH EDUCATION ENTHUSIASTS
Welcome to the April edition of the MedEd Newsletter of 2021
DR LINDA FERRINGTON
Welcome to the April 2021 edition of the MedEd Newsletter.
I hope everyone was able to take some sort of break from teaching in the Easter period, and at least enjoy some chocolate and hot cross buns! In Medicine we are marching swiftly towards the start of BGD term and looking forward to welcoming the students back for term 2.
I’d like to thank some of our lovely MedEd colleagues for sending in some teaching tips, reviews and other musings for inclusion in the newsletter and remind everyone to please send me things as you come across them so that I can share them with everyone!
I hope you enjoy the Newsletter, please do give me any feedback and let me know what you’d like to see here.
MedEd Workshop April 27th @12pm
Please come and join Dr Annie Luo as she takes you through the process of formulating effective learning outcomes that focus on what students should be able to demonstrate at the end of a course. In this interactive workshop, Dr Luo will also share tips and tricks that will help you to develop this essential skill in Educational Design.
Teaching Tips
Learning about MedEd in 140 characters
DR ALISON SECULL,
DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL EDUCATION,
RURAL CLINICAL SCHOOL, COFFS HARBOUR
Do you use Twitter for #MedEd? I have found many thought provoking pieces in the 140 characters or less format. For instance, you might be interested to check out the series on providing formative feedback to trainees by Geoff Stetson MD and the MED Twag Team
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https://twitter.com/MedEdTwagTeam
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I like the fact that the info comes to my by my curated selection of follows.
I can learn something in literally 2 minutes.
The Care Factor: Foundations and practice of supporting student success and wellbeing
Review
Self Efficacy TEDx Talk
DR JESS MACER-WRIGHT,
PHD, FHEA
(PHASE 1 MEDICINE, RURAL CLINICAL SCHOOL)
This TEDx Talk discusses self-efficacy, why it’s important and how to nurture it. If you can spare 15 minutes and you want to learn more, I highly recommend it: Why self-efficacy matters – Mamie Morrow
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If you don’t have time, here’s a quick summary of what I took away from it:
Self-efficacy is important for building resilience and perseverance (we all know we could use more of this, and I am certain our students do too). People with low self-efficacy will often avoid a task or give up quickly because they don’t believe they will be successful. Higher levels of self-efficacy provide the motivation to try new things, set goals and act on what you want to do, because you perceive that you have the ability to achieve it. Further, you are more likely to persevere when challenges arise, because you believe in your ability to face these challenges.
Sources of self-efficacy:
Supported in feeling successful – support in mastery of a task: e.g., as educators we can support students’ feeling of success by providing worked examples, or engage students in guided problem solving before giving them problems to solve on their own
Seeing others succeed and seeing them face challenges on their path to success. Building a support network that encourages success motivates us to set achievable goals and persevere in the face of challenges
Receiving specific encouragement has a very positive impact and is a very powerful motivator. Knowing that our work towards change (or a goal) is being seen and heard helps us to focus on the progress we make towards our goal rather than on the challenges along the way
Manage negative emotions – let’s face it, this one is important, because we all know where negative self-talk leads and we need to get better at reframing our negative emotions or thoughts. If we can manage negative emotions, we can become better at recognising barriers to success and come up with strategies to overcome them. Personally, I think this is where reflective practice comes in: if we can reflect on both our perceived barriers to success and the strategies we implement to overcome them, then we can build both better teaching practices and better habits
Mentoring
Finding a Buddy in Wagga Wagga
DR MICHAEL MACARTNEY
The inaugural 2021 phase 1 medicine cohort at Wagga Wagga brought with it many unknowns. Luckily, our older sibling living up the road at Port Macquarie had blazed the trail years earlier and was full of tips and tricks. Students arrived in Wagga Wagga, some for the first time ever, with bright eyes and eager to begin their journey. However, moving away from friends and family can be a daunting task, particularly for younger students in the cohort. To alleviate this stress, each year 1 student was introduced to their own ‘buddy’ (a more senior student) who was already familiar with Wagga Wagga. Overall, anecdotal feedback received was very positive and indicates that the Year 1 students appreciated having a more senior peer to ask any questions (personal, life advice, best bar to go to on Uni night...etc., etc.,) and help them settle into their new home. Moving forward we aim to continue the buddy system to compliment, in parallel, the well-established benefits of more academic oriented ‘mentor’ relationships.
MedEd Article(s) of the Month
Upcoming Medical Education Conferences
8th Rural and Remote
Health Scientific Symposium
THE THEME OF THE SYMPOSIUM IS ‘CONNECTING RESEARCH, PRACTICE AND COMMUNITIES’
SAVE THE DATE
UPCOMING EVENTS
From nightmare to bliss: how to change the perception of group work
DR NIRMANI WIJENAYAKE
UNSW
Dr Nirmani Wijenayake demonstrates with her biochemistry course that when students are equipped with knowing ‘how to’ work in groups, it can lead to positive and rewarding learning experiences. Nirmani was an award recipient of the UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning last year. Please join us for Connections, a forum that enables peer-to-peer sharing of good practice in learning and teaching.
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Tuesday 11 May | 12 – 1pm | Central Lecture Block 2 or livestream
Interprofessional Education Showcase
19th November 2021
UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
AND
AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY COMBINED
Sustaining interprofessional innovation and momentum in 2021.
A free, combined universities forum providing an excellent opportunity to network within the interprofessional education, practice and research community.
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Building on the success of last year, a hybrid format involving in-person and virtual presentations will be used.
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Details of abstract submission and presentation formats will follow soon
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.