Motivating Staff and Students at the Research-Teaching Nexus: Experience from Student Selected Components (SSCs) in Medicine at Edinburgh

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Motivating Staff and Students at the
Research-Teaching NexusExperience from Student
Selected Components (SSCs) in Medicine at
Edinburgh

• Simon Riley
• Director of SSCs
• Undergraduate Programme in Medicine
• Senior Lecturer (non-clinical) in Obstetrics and
  Gynaecology
• University of Edinburgh
• Simon.C.Riley_at_ed.ac.uk

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SSCs in medicine at Edinburgh

• Overall purpose of the 5 year SSC programme of
  courses is to progressively develop (a) research
  skills, and (b) a wider range of professional
  skills, where (c) the student has choice
• Performing research is the defining and
  distinctive theme in the Edinburgh MBChB,
  highlighted in the undergraduate prospectus
• SSC programme is the main conduit to deliver the
  Evidence-Based Medicine and Research curriculum
  vertical theme, and the main research-teaching
  linkage in medicine
• Furthermore, about 40 of our 2nd years do an
  intercalated degree

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Purposeful development of learning outcomes
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SSCs are integrated with the core curriculum

• Embedded throughout medicine programme
• SSC programme provides choice and
  opportunities
• Clear (21) timetable commitment
• Regarded as a significant, integrated and
  important part of the course that delivers some
  core skills
• Fully integrated into assessment
• end of each year (required for progression)
• for SFAS ranking
• end of the five years contributing to
  distinctions, prizes, etc

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SSC Courses

• Students perform four different projects with
  research-active staff
• SSC1 (Y1) - small groups - simple research
  project with supervisor wide choice diary and
  group poster presentation
• SSC2a b (Y2) small groups - research two
  topics with facilitator wide choice for first,
  self select for second wiki presentation
• SSC4 (Y4) - single student with a supervisor
  self select - research/audit project over 14
  weeks project report
• many are useful audits that inform practice
• sometimes attain either conference abstract
  and/or peer reviewed journal article or review
  (10-20?)
• Also - SSC3 (Y3 working in teams) and SSC5
  (Y5 elective) are also enquiry led, for instance
  critically appraising a situation
• (14 of total curriculum time)

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What sort of research

• SSC1 Hospital-based generate audit data from
  simple patient questionnaire, with clinical
  exposure
• SSC2a b usually critical appraisal of
  existing literature - first is a topical clinical
  subject, second is self-selected and may be
  outside medicine
• SSC4 wide range of projects
• Clinical retrospective or prospective audit
• Linking into existing clinical research study
• Small research study with/without audit component
• Systematic review
• Interrogate a database, medical teaching, history
  of medicine, sports science, medical law, medical
  ethics, music in medicine

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Staff involvement and support

• Large number of staff - spreads teaching load
  (with 260 students per year)
• Informal network well established
• SSC1 32 facilitators UoE and NHS in and around
  Edinburgh
• SSC2 69 facilitators UoE and NHS in and around
  Edinburgh
• SSC4 165 supervisors UoE and NHS in and around
  Edinburgh
• Statistician dedicated to support SSC projects,
  teaching applied statistics, and developing web
  based resources including experimental design
• Ethics triage and medical ethicist in support
• Good administrative support
• Course Organiser and Programme Director

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Motivating staff and students - alignment

• Progressive accumulation of skills
• Students bring skills that are useful to a
  project
• Partnership
• Real partnership between supervisor and team
  (perhaps in contrast to teaching elsewhere on
  course) motivated
• Contribution
• Want to do something useful may result in
  useful audit to change practice, perhaps an
  abstract or paper promote specialty
• Enjoyable
• A word regularly seen in feedback from students
  and supervisors
• Not too onerous
• Often much more work than expected! Well
  supported and resourced, teaching load spread
• Opportunity / valued / purposeful
• Real opportunity to gain from both project and
  for PPD (SFAS application! a reference / paper,
  I want a job on that unit) integrated
  assessment supervisors own vested interest,
  recognised as teaching

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Motivational tips at theresearch-teaching nexus!?

• Align elements that motivate both staff and
  students so an opportunity for both
• Develop student research skills
• Provide resources
• Remove impediments
• Value teaching, a way research staff can fulfil
  this role
• empower students to find their own projects and
  supervisors

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Feedback from staff.

• For SSC4
• After a prompt asking for projects for next year,
  90 members of staff have emailed me over the
  last couple of months offering about 160
  projects, plus local support, etc
• (Indirect feedback, but similar responses over
  the last few years)

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. feedback from students

• I didnt like the idea of having to do 14 weeks
  of independent clinical research, but actually I
  really enjoyed it
• Thoroughly challenging, yet enjoyable and
  stimulating. Ive never worked so hard and yet
  felt so motivated to do so
• I enjoyed the project very much. It helped me
  realise how much I enjoy independence. I am
  looking forward to doing further research later
  in my career