R Spour | Associate Clinical Educators

ACE and role player Mark plays a suicidal patient in a scenario — Dealing with suicidal patients is very challenging and Meducates Associate Clinical Educators have years of experience to help guide the student through these difficult scenarios (Image Matrix Education)

Now that we have been in lockdown for almost five months, working online has been a challenge. We have had to explore new ways of working and teaching using technologies we have never used before. We embraced the challenge fully and have managed to work online with PA students at Wolverhampton and Chester Universities. In fact, we were even asked to do a summative OSCE at Wolverhampton University last month, which went very well.

In terms of teaching communication skills for history taking, there was very little difference from working face to face in a classroom. Students have also stepped up to the plate and invested time and energy in adapting to the new technologies and methodology.

At Meducate Academy we embraced this new approach to teaching online in the very first week of lockdown in March 2020.

Webinar for Matrix Education

This month, I had the honour of talking about the role of the Associate Clinical Educator and Medical Roleplayer on a webinar hosted by ‘Matrix Education’. We had over 50 delegates and talked for well over an hour, fielding questions from students attending Physician Associates Post Graduate courses at Universities around the UK.

Most of the questions were based on the students concerns and worries about their up- coming OSCEs later this year.

I was assisted by colleague and co-worker Mark and between us we provided entertainment as well as giving useful advice on:

How to conduct yourself in an OSCE station.
How does a student build rapport.
How to control nerves and anxiety.
What is the best way to prepare for a systems exam?

And much, much more.

PA student performing a CV exam with ACE Bob — Correct placement of the stethoscope is vital when performing a CV exam. Our Associate Clinical Educators know exactly how the examination should be performed and give guidance throughout (Image Matrix Education).

Collectively, my colleague and I have had over 25 years experience working in the field of Medical Education, and have taken part in hundreds of OSCEs over this period, including working with other Health Professionals such as GPs, Dentists, Medical Students, Nurses and Physiotherapists.

If you would like to know more about how we can help your students realise their potential please contact us at Meducate Academy.

Welcome to this the first of many posts related to Meducate Academy and the work we do to provide Universities and Colleges with High Quality Associate Clinical Educators and Role Players.

Meducate was created in response to the growing demand for highly skilled Physician Associates (PAs), Medical Students, Independent Prescribing Pharmacists, Nurses, Dentists and others working in the Health Care Professions.

Our aim is to provide Colleges and Universities who run these educational programmes with teams of highly trained and experienced Clinicians, Clinical Leaders, Associate Clinical Educators (ACE) and Professional Medical Role Players.

We have already worked in partnership with Wolverhampton University and Chester University providing both Associate Clinical Educators and Role Players for their Physician Associate Programmes and we have taken our training to these establishments via Teams and Zoom. In fact, working online has saved the customer valuable time and kept the costs down considerably.

In this post we explore the role of the ACE and how they work alongside experienced clinicians to offer the best learning outcomes. We also find out how they differ from medical role players and just what it is they offer the student, The term Associate Clinical Educator was first pioneered by Professor Jim Parle at The University of Birmingham Medical School 10 years ago.

In the following video we interview a highly experienced Role Player and Associate Clinical Educator and find out just what it is they do and how it will fit in with your programme of teaching.

In upcoming post we will be talking to Pete Gorman, Clinical Lead from The University of Wolverhampton Physician Associate Course.

The University of Wolverhampton has worked closely with Meducate over the past 12 months both online as well as in the classroom and Pete Gorman explains how he has utilised the services of Associate Clinical Educators to great effect during his tenure there.

For more information and a free consultation as to how we can help you check in at our website Meducate Academy.