It has been a great privilege to take on the role of Office for Education at the College. I am a Consultant Neonatologist based at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and have been a Training Program Director (TPD) in the School of Paediatrics, Yorkshire and Humber for six years. In these roles, I have established a system of support for trainees facing difficulties with MRCPCH exams and have developed courses within the region.
The most exciting aspect for me is to explore newer avenues for education including courses that are topical and other modes of education delivery such as podcasts, webinars (to reach out to our international members)
The role of Officer for Education provides both operational and strategic overview to all the educational activities under the remit of RCPCH. The role involves working closely with the education team within the College to provide support to the ongoing courses, develop infrastructure within the team to enable regular quality review. The most exciting aspect for me is to explore newer avenues for education including courses that are topical and other modes of education delivery such as podcasts, webinars (to reach out to our international members). It has also been a privilege to represent the education team at the Education and Training Executive group and align our work with the overall strategy of the College.
I am keen to make education more accessible to wider members of the College – international medical graduates, non consultant grade members and allied health professionals. I enjoy the day to day interaction I have with some fantastic / motivated people working for the College and the opportunity to influence the educational strategy.
Through my role as a TPD, I have been instrumental in helping trainees (especially International Medical Graduates) achieve success in exams / training and this has provided me greater insight into the challenges of trainees who have had limited experience in the UK and issues surrounding differential attainment. I have also developed courses, established support network, led on multidisciplinary teaching programmes and gained experience in educational governance in my various other roles. This role provides an opportunity to contribute to the educational structure of the College as well as in influencing the strategy of the College to provide more inclusivity and extend the reach both within the UK and internationally.
Being part of the ELB will mean that the members will have a say in our existing courses, their structure and content and help us design educational materials to capture different key groups including young adults
One of the key steps that we are focussing on is to establish the Education and Learning Board (ELB) within the College that includes the various stakeholders contributing to the operational and strategic aspects of the College. The ELB seeks to provide an oversight to all the educational activities, enable quality assurance and steer the direction for future courses. The target audience for College is ever expanding and there is a clear need for our activities to represent / support the varying audience including our international members and allied health professionals.
We need enthusiastic people representing these sectors to be able to contribute and help us design/develop/modify our educational materials to suit the needs of such diverse group of members. Being part of the ELB will mean that the members will have a say in our existing courses, their structure and content and help us design educational materials to capture different key groups including young adults.
The Education and Learning Board will meet quarterly and provide guidance and an overview to all the current educational content. In addition to ensuring that progress is made in achieving the objectives that we have set out in our annual plan, the ELB will play a key role in driving development of newer educational resources. We want the ELB to be widely represented especially with trainees and allied health professionals. This role will give an opportunity to the members to have a say on the development of future educational materials and to steer the educational focus of the College towards the future.
Join the new Education and Learning Board - email elboard@rcpch.ac.uk