Healthcare and Biomedical Education

We work with the National School of Healthcare Science to investigate the effectiveness of scientist education and training and recommend innovations to ensure that trainees are fully prepared for their professional roles. 

Healthcare Scientists provide specialist expertise to support diagnosis and treatment across a wide range of disciplines, including life, physiological and physical sciences, and health informatics. High quality training that reflects the complex and fast moving nature of these specialties, and that develops the trainees’ wider skills, is essential if they are to fulfil these roles effectively for the benefit of patients and society.

• PI: Dr Sharon Buckley, Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences
• Sandie Gay, Head of Assessment and Research Evaluation, National School of Healthcare Science, Health Education England
• The Healthcare Scientist Training Research and Evaluation Group page

• PI: Dr Sharon Buckley, Institute of Clinical Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences
• Michelle Bishop, Education Specialist, Health Education England (HEE) Genomics Education Programme
• Hilary Brown, Senior Fellow, Health Services Management Centre
• Sandie Gay, Head of Assessment and Research Evaluation, National School of Healthcare Science
• Professor Jayne Parry, Professor of Policy and Public Health, Institute of Applied Health Research.
• Jaimini Patel, Research Associate, Birmingham Medical School
• Anneke Seller, Scientific Director, HEE Genomics Education Programme
• Megan Smith, Research Associate, Birmingham Medical School

Our research aims to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of our extensive programme of outreach and widening participation activities. Also to identify best practice to ensure that all students with the academic potential to succeed, no matter what their background or experience, are supported and guided through their higher education in the biomedical sciences and healthcare.

• PI: Dr Clare Ray, College of Medical and Dental Sciences lead for Outreach and Widening Participation
• PI: Dr Sarah Conner, College of Medical and Dental Sciences Deputy Lead for EDI
• Mr Tom Syder, College of Medical and Dental Sciences Outreach Equality and Diversity Officer
• PI: Dr Teresa Thomas, College of Medical and Dental Sciences lead for Student Experience

Our aim is to offer teaching of the highest quality in communication and related areas for health professionals and to undertake research of the highest quality, which can inform our teaching and educational understanding.

• PI: Dr Connie Wiskin, Senior Lecturer, Interactive Studies Unit Lead
• Professor John Skelton, Professor of Clinical Communication
• Sandeep Randhawa, Senior Clinical Tutor, Interactive Studies Unit & Community Based Medicine
• Jon Ward, Senior Teaching Fellow, Interactive Studies Unit
• Katherine Heathcock, Teaching Fellow, Interactive Studies Unit
• Patrick Hayes, Teaching Fellow, Interactive Studies Unit

Teaching-focused staff in the Institute of Clinical Sciences use a variety of methods to explore the effectiveness of how we teach, and the strengths and feasibility of innovative methods of teaching. We examine our practices in assessment and feedback and design and test new ways to engage with and support our students. We focus on cross-disciplinary projects to seek to generate collaborative, rigorous and impactful student-focused outcomes.

PI: Professor Julian Bion:  

• Models for Intensive Care Training
• Patient experience and reflective learning (PEARL) 

PI: Dr Alison Cooper:

• Neurobiology of the learning process

PI: Dr Clare J Ray:

• Active learning
• The flipped classroom
• Threshold concepts in physiology education

PI: Dr Amelia Swift

• Senior Lecturer & Head of Education Nursing

PI: Dr Teresa Thomas:

• Academic writing and academic integrity,
• Blended learning
• Active learning

PI: Dr Chris Tselepis:

• The use of audio feedback to enhance both the student and staff experience

SCRIPT is a web-based eLearning programme that provides a portfolio of 123 modules for the continuing professional development of healthcare professionals and undergraduate healthcare students across the UK. We develop content to standardise the training and education relating to prescribing and therapeutics.

SCRIPT eLearning aims to standardise the training and education of undergraduate healthcare students and healthcare professionals across the NHS, to reduce the risk of medication errors and optimise the use of medicines to benefit patient care.

• PI: Professor John Marriott, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
• Professor Jamie Coleman, Director of Physician Associate Studies
• Dr Sarah Pontefract, Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Editorial Lead SCRIPT eLearning programme
• Hannah Vallance, SCRIPT eLearning Manager
• Dr Julie Mason, SCRIPT eLearning Manager
• Tanvi Choudhary, SCRIPT eLearning Manager

Healthcare professionals access patient information electronically, understand and interpret the information and use this to deliver and optimise patient care. The effective contribution to electronic patient records relies on IT skills, user familiarity and competence. The education of healthcare professional students has not kept pace with digital challenges, with the paper record still used to teach and assess key non-clinical skills.

We aim to provide the technology, populated with authentic patient records, to undergraduate healthcare programmes so that students can acquire the clinical and non-technical skills to work effectively with and alongside electronic patient records. We aim to investigate the barriers and facilitators to integrating the technology into undergraduate programmes, and the acceptance of the technology by both students and teaching staff.

• PI: Dr Sarah Pontefract, Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
• Professor Jamie Coleman, Director of Physician Associate Studies
• Jon Ward, Senior Teaching Fellow in Clinical Communication