Faculty Development - Clinical Teachers - Medical Education Unit

The resources on this page are designed to support our clinical teachers.

Resources for faculty involved in medical education

The Medical Education Unit has produced a number of PowerPoint presentations to assist medical faculty in UCC with some best practice regarding clinical teaching, assessment and feedback in Medical Education. The PowerPoint Presentations are narrated by MEU members and can be downloaded below.

Clinical Teaching

Feedback

Assessment

A PDF version of the above PowerPoint presentation is available below:

Please note if you need support or advice you should contact the School of Medicine instructional designer, Kieran Nee kieran.nee@ucc.ie

Resources for Clinical Teaching

The following article on experience-based learning is of relevance to all clinical teachers involved in medical education: Experience Based Learning (ExBL): Clinical teaching for the twenty first century

Online Teaching

If you need to create online resources or teaching content (e.g. to replace a face-to-face lecture) speak to the co-ordinator of the module you teach on and he or she should be able to advise you and direct you to the supports that are available.

The Office of the VP for Learning and Teaching (OVPLT) oversees general teaching and learning support for all UCC’s teaching staff. There are many useful resources for teachers on this site.

Supporting Medical Students in Difficulty

While medical student life is exciting for most students, it can also be challenging and distressing for some, at different time points in their course. Most students overcome the stressors presented by seeking support from their network of friends and family. However, for some, there is a need for further supports from an academic or school perspective, and sometimes professional psychological support is merited. There are a myriad of reasons why students suffer emotional and psychological distress and may present seeking support. There may be ongoing issues in the students’ life or anxiety and distress can be brought on by a sudden event, e.g. bereavement. Some common issues include:

Academic stress and career dilemma (self-efficacy, wrong course, loss of joy in prospect of being a doctor, suffering under the pressure of personal and family expectations)

Health Issues (Mental Health – anxiety, panic attacks, depression or Physical Health – chronic or sudden onset of an illness)

Difficulty in navigating the clinical environment (fear, rejection, invisibility, feeling lost - not knowing the rules of engagement (what, why, where, when, how and who)

Family issues (Bereavement, financial)

Personal issues (Cultural, financial, sexuality, family, peers, sexual and relationships

Our role as educators and staff members

It is essential that all of us who are involved with students are aware of the supports available for students and the pathways to accessing such support. As educators and staff members, it is also important that we understand our role and the boundaries in offering student support.

We can listen, we can give the student time to talk so that we understand the situation as they view it and we can signpost them to the appropriate supports. In general, supports are accessed by means of self-referral by the student. There are a wide range of supports available to students. The UCC student experience office have developed an infographic depicting the students’ supports. It is available here.

Mental Health Supports

If you are worried for a student’s personal safety you can make appropriate referrals for them. Brief information regarding the correct pathway and a flowchart is available in the Student Mental Health policy for staff.

Further comprehensive support and information about your role and responsibilities as a UCC staff member is available in the Student Mental Health Policy and as the university admits some students who are under the age of 18, it is also important to be aware of the UCC Child Protection Policy.

Referring students in Crisis:

Student Counselling and Development allocates a crisis session each day, during college term, for students in acute crisis. Contact Student Counselling and Development if you are concerned for a student’s safety.

Boundaries

Although the health and welfare of the students is of concern to you, it is important that you do not offer treatment to the student. It is not your role as an educator to be the student’s doctor. If it is an academic concern, refer the student to their module co-ordinator or year head. If the issue is non-academic, signpost them towards the many appropriate services available within UCC.

Within the Medical School, we offer a guide to the first point of contact should students wish to access support from within the Medical School:

Faculty Development - Clinical Teachers

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