Meducate Academy’s First National Online ACE Conference

Meducate Academy’s First National Online ACE Conference

Meducate Academy are pleased to announce their First National Online Conference on The role of the Associate Clinical Educator in Medical Education.

As I have said repeatedly, Simulation with an ACE plays a very important role in helping Medical Students, Physician Associates, Pharmacists and other health professionals in the application of their skills. This coupled with the use of other tools such as the Sim Man, anatomical models and volunteer patients integrate the teaching so that the students practical development is maximised. It prepares them to work with real life patients.

More often than not students only get to practice these skills on volunteer patients and mannequins. Neither of these can replace the type of feedback given by a human being in real time.

A few years ago this problem was addressed by Prof Jim Parle at The University of Birmingham on the Physician associate Course. He realised the importance of high quality feedback and created the role of the Associate Clinical Educator (ACE). The ACE, as we have previously said, is a highly experienced medical roleplayer who has been trained by clinicians to understand “how” the Systems examinations should be carried out. The ACE will then guide the student, allowing them to develop their skills in a safe and controlled environment.

It is also important to realise that as well as aiding the student in passing their OSCEs, the ACE role is there to help the student develop safe practice. This is a topic that is often not mentioned and this too will be discussed during the conference.

At the present moment ACEs are only being used by three institutions in the UK.

Birmingham University (In house through the ISU)
Chester University (Meducate Academy)
Wolverhampton University (Meducate Academy)

We are inviting clinical leads as well as those involved in simulation in the health professions to attend free of charge.

You will have a chance to listen to 5 key speakers who currently use ACEs alongside traditional methods of simulation and also get to see a brief example of how an ACE works with a student. This will be followed by a Q & A session with the speakers themselves.

The Line Up:
Professor Jim ParleProfessor Jim Parle

Professor Jim Parle will be speaking about the history of the role of associate clinical educator and his part in its development and what the future holds for simulation.

Jim Parle was Professor of Primary Care and was Course director for the Physician Assistant PGDip programme at The University of Birmingham. Although retired he continues to work tirelessly on a variety of projects.

Jim entered General Practice in 1982 and was Senior Partner from 1983 to 2000, continuing part-time General Practice alongside academia since then.  Jim’s main activity in his 20 years as an academic has been in education, leading on the introduction of a major community based teaching strand within the MBChB course; championing the place of non bio-sciences such as ethics and law and behavioral science in the medical curriculum; establishing the PA PGDip; and leading innovative educational approaches such as using lay women to teach medical students how to perform female pelvic examinations. His research interests have been predominantly in thyroid epidemiology and in education. He has received grants from, among others, the RCGP, PPP (now the Health Foundation) and the NIHR.

Jim had also led the development of community based experience for medical students, initiated (with Dr Sheila Greenfield), the innovative and successful intercalated degree in non-bioscience subjects; led the development of various types of simulation as enjoyable and effective learning methodologies for clinical skills and set up one of the first, and by most measures the most successful, postgraduate diploma in Physician Assistant studies in the UK. He was also chair of the UK and Ireland Board for PA Studies. He has been on the Steering Committee for the Biennial International Clinical Skills Conference series held in Tuscany, and chaired the Scientific Committee for that conference.

He is well known in the fields of thyroid epidemiology and, in education, particularly in the development of innovative approaches to learning clinical skills. He has spoken at numerous conferences on these issues (e.g. quinquennial thyroid conference, Buenos Aires, Ottawa conference on assessment, Toronto).

He recently stepped down as Chief Senior Examiner of the RCP Faculty of Physician Associate National Exam board.

James Ennis Course Director University of ChesterJames Ennis

James has worked in a number of clinical fields across the UK including general surgery, trauma and orthopaedics, acute medicine and general practice. He has worked in educational institutes across England and is currently research active. His research interest is in the PA role in the UK and the use of simulation in medical education. Recent publications include:

Effectiveness of technology-enhanced simulation in teaching digital rectal examination: a systematic review narrative synthesis.

Physician associates: the challenge facing general practice.

Physician associates working in secondary care teams in England: interprofessional implications from a national survey.

James is currently the Course Director of the MSc Physician Associate studies at the University of Chester.

Kate Straughton President FPAKate Straughton

President of the Faculty of Physician Associates and Senior Lecturer at The University of Birmingham Physician Associate Programme.

Kate is a qualified PA, graduating from the University of Birmingham in 2009 and completing her MsC in 2017 from the University of Worcester. She has over ten years experience including working in acute medicine and neurosurgery. She has been working in PA education since 2014, with a focus on work-based learning and clinical placements. Kate is currently the placement lead for the University of Birmingham PA course, and also oversees the MsC ‘top up’ for PAs who wish to carry out some further research.

Uzo Ehiogu Uzo Ehiogu

Uzo is a Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist who led the Spinal Therapy Unit at London Bridge Hospital in London, England. In that role he was responsible for the specialist spinal rehabilitation of post surgical patients referred by orthopaedic, upper limb and neuro surgeons. He also acted a source of clinical expertise for lower quadrant related dysfunction within the department. He now heads up the training of 4th year Medical students in Musculo Skeletal Examinations at the Royal Orthopedic Hospital in Birmingham as well as working in a busy clinical role.

Uzo is a retired British Army Physiotherapy Officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He spent several years in the Royal Marines Commandos and qualified as a Parachutist before being selected for a Commission in the Army as an Officer. During his service in the Army he has worked in secondary care, primary care and occupational health environments.

One his most recent appointment was as the Rehabilitation Officer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst providing clinical and administrative leadership for a high performance musculoskeletal service. He was the clinical lead responsible for the delivery of a high class service in a premier military training establishment for injured soldiers. He led the  accelerated return to military training and work of patients with career threatening injuries requiring ongoing care and extended rehabilitation for periods of 4-8 months.

Uzo deployed to Afghanistan twice during his Army service years in support of British Special Forces personnel. He conducted specialist musculoskeletal clinics. This role required independent decision making regarding the clinical diagnosis and future management of high value personnel.  He has also worked as a Specialist Physiotherapist at Defence Medical  Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court.

Uzo has worked in the National Health Service as a Senior Physiotherapist where he developed a Pilates and Spinal Stability retraining service in East London England. He has worked for several football teams in Northeast London, England, most notably at West Ham Professional Football Club as the Youth Team Physiotherapist.

Uzo is a Bachelor of Applied Sports Science, and an accredited Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association USA. He is also a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and is in his final year of a Clinical Masters of Science Degree in Manipulative and Manual Physiotherapy. He is a keen researcher and reader and is currently involved in a year long prospective research project investigating lower limb injury risk profiling in British Army Officer Cadets.

Mark Reynolds Mark Reynolds (Host) Mark has been working as an ACE since 2008 having trained as a medical role player two years previously. Aside from teaching cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal examinations, his special interests in the ACE role include clinical communication, orthopaedic examinations and Mark is a leading educator in the male intimate examinations. Outside of the ACE role Mark is currently involved with various narration projects for the BBC Doctor Who franchise.

We look forward to you joining us on the 4th September 2021 at 12 noon and engage with our experienced clinicians who will talk about their experience of simulation in teaching practice and how the ACE has helped their students develop important clinical and communication skills.

Click here to register for Meducate Academy’s First National Online ACE Conference