The Faculty of Medicine will be piloting a project issuing iPads to students in years 5 and 6 of the MBBS course at the beginning of the 2013/14 academic term.

The main learning and teaching activities planned to be delivered on iPads are:

• All the course learning materials will be accessed via Blackboard Learn.
• Students on placements will be able to readily and easily access learning materials and their own notes, and be able to add reflections, etc.
• Some sign-off forms (DOPS) will be available electronically on the iPads allowing clinical teachers to assess students and submit the DOPS to the Faculty Education Office electronically, keeping a record on the students’ iPads.
• Students will be able to participate during lectures using virtual clickers hosted on their iPads.
• Students will access interactive iBooks in the area of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
• Students will be able to receive updates from different sites directly on their iPads providing a direct communication channel with clinical sites.

A most successful iPad pilot launch event took place on 15 May 2013 and attendees were shown demonstrations of the features, apps and benefits of the iPads. For more information please contact

Dr Maria Toro-Troconis

E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine

Congratulations go to three members of the Faculty of Medicine after their recent EDU awards; prizes were open to members of staff who had completed the Postgraduate Certificate (PG Cert), Diploma and MEd in University Learning and Teaching.

The Rees Rawlings prize for the best PG Cert portfolio went to  Dr Jonathan Benn, Lecturer in Quality Improvement Healthcare, Department of Surgery & Cancer, and to Dr Maria-de-Gracia Dominguez-Barrera, Honorary Clinical Lecturer in the Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The Routledge Education Prize was awarded to Dr Jane Saffell, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, also a winner of the Rector’s Award for Excellence in Teaching 2011.

Congratulations to all recipients. For anyone  interested in applying for any of the EDU programmes, applications open in March 2013. Click here for more information.

Dr Michael Barrett, Head of Learning Resources and Senior Lecturer, was recently awarded the Rector’s Medal for Excellence in Supporting the Student Experience. Competition is fierce, with only a maximum of two medals awarded across the entire College, and we are immensely proud of Dr Barrett for receiving this thoroughly deserved award. We chatted with Mike about his history at Imperial and how he feels about his Rector’s Medal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Year 1 student, James Soo, now in year 2, was awarded the Problem Based Learning prize at a ceremony at the Hall of Apothecaries on the 12^th November. In attendance were the Course Leaders, Drs Jane Currie and Elizabeth Muir.

Prizes were also awarded to students form Kings, UCL, St. George’s and St. Barts/London medical schools. A talk was given by Sir Kenneth Calman,  KCB, DL, FRSE, former Chief Medical Officer of England.

Our congratulations go to James.

Dr. Alan Swann will step down from the post of Director of Occupational Health at the end of December, after which he will work part-time as the Service’s OH Physician.

Ms Claire O’Brien, RN, BSc (Hons), Principal OH Adviser in the OH Service has been appointed to take over as Director and head of service. She will take up her new role on 1^st January 2013. Leigh Turvey has been promoted to a new Senior OH Adviser post and will be responsible for the day-to-day organisation of clinic services.

Many thanks to Dr Swann and congratulations to Claire and Leigh.

On 7th November 2012 the Awards for Teaching Excellence for NHS Teachers were hosted by the Head of Quality Assurance and Enhancement and Deputy Director of Education, Professor Karim Meeran. Certificates were awarded by Professor Dermot Kelleher, Faculty Principal, and Professor Jenny Higham, Deputy Principal and Director of Education.

The recipients of the 2011-12 awards were:

Dr Nicky Coote, Consultant Paediatrician (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

Dr Michael Coren, Consultant Paediatrician (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

Dr Zahid Dhakam, Consultant GP (Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust)

Dr Stephen Goldring, Consultant Paediatrician (The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

Dr Gira Patel, Locum Consultant Psychiatrist (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust)

Dr Mary Roddie, Consultant Radiologist (Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

Dr Stuart Rosen, Consultant Cardiologist (Ealing Hospital NHS Trust)

Dr James Shelley, Consultant Dermatologist (Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust)

Dr Nuttan Tanna, Pharmacist Consultant (The North West London Hospitals NHS Trust)

Dr Sarah Woodham, Consultant Rheumatologist (The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

Award winners with Faculty Principal, Deputy Principal and Director of Education, and the three Deputy Directors of Education

Dr Elizabeth Muir and Professor Alison McGregor received Personal Tutor Awards for their exceptional support and practical advice to students over the course of the academic year.

Two students were also given recognition for their academic achievements; Dr Alasdair Scott and Dr Michael Matheou, both FY1 doctors. Dr Scott received the London Gold Medal Prize, over  students from George’s, KCL, QMUL, UCL and Imperial. Dr Matheou received an unprecedented Imperial Certificate for Exceptional Achievement in Surgery Clinical Finals, having been the first student in memory to achieve the highest possible score.  Warmest congratulations to both; such students make us extremely proud.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was received by Dr Oscar Craig, who has been giving his inspirational talk to new students emphasising the excitement and responsibilities involved in being a medical student since 1970. His commitment and enthusiasm continues to inspire our new medical students each year and we are very grateful.

Dr Alasdair Scott, Dr Michael Matheou and Dr Oscar Craig

The Awards were followed by a truly exceptional Inaugural Lecture “Sleeping, breathing and inspiration” by Professor Mary Morrell, Professor of Sleep and Respiratory Physiology, NHLI. Professor Morrell is a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher for both undergraduates and postgraduates and her outstanding talk was enjoyed by all.

Congratulations to all!

The first Imperial MRC DTA Colloquium took place on 21 September 2012 for recipients of the prestigious MRC DTA PhD Studentships and was hosted by the Faculty of Medicine Lead for Doctoral Degrees, Dr Laki Buluwela.

Former and current students met with Director of the Graduate School Professor Andrew George and Deputy Principal Professor Jenny Higham, as well as the MRC Panel Manager, Ms Simone Bryan, and Programme Manager Dr Joanna Robinson. Professor Lord Winston was also in attendance and gave an informal talk on ‘Communicating Science to the Public’ before announcing the winners of the Imperial MRC DTA Essay Prize; congratulations to Ben Bleasdale, Harriet Gliddon and Tianlai Yang.

A valuable, enjoyable afternoon for all. To read more about the colloquium, including the winning essays, click here.

Each of the 3rd year undergraduates at Imperial College London School of Medicine undertake a group project to identify and assess quality deficiencies in the clinical environment that they are studying. Each group proposed effective solutions to improving the quality of care provided.

The assignments were undertaken at each of the sites where students were working. Each of these sites ran a poster prize session locally.

One group’s poster was accepted for the Society of Acute Medicine Conference in October. The team, Charlotte Levene, Sarah Young, Abdur Rauff Mahrouff and Megan Mackenzie were based at West Middlesex University Hospital. Charlotte and Sarah attended the conference in Manchester and presented the poster. Read the rest of this entry »

There have been two recent appointments within the Faculty:

Dr Shahid Khan has replaced Dr Marjorie Walker as Deputy Admissions Tutor.  He will be involved across all aspects of admissions, but will specialise in the graduate entry area.  Shahid is a Consultant Gastroenterologist in the Imperial Trust, and has been involved in the admissions process for some time.

Dr Chris John has taken over from Dr Katie Wynne, on an interim basis, as Acting Head of Graduate Entry.  Chris is very familiar with the course, as he has been involved with it since its inception; he is Theme Leader for Regulatory Systems, and Course Leader for Pharmacology and Therapeutics.  One of his first tasks will be to respond to the recent GE review.

We all wish Shahid and Chris well in their roles, and also wish Marjorie and Katie every success in their new roles which are, incidentally, both in the University of Newcastle, Australia.

The Educational Development Unit (EDU) has updated its workshop provision and is pleased to launch a new range of workshops for 2012-13.

Now on offer is a range of 34 workshops, 15 of which are new and most others have been updated and revised. The new range of workshops has been divided into the following categories to help people identify what options might be best for them:

Introduction to…  Basic introductions to various important aspects of teaching and learning in an Imperial College context.

Practical Guide to…  A series of short, pragmatic workshops that cover various key practical aspects of teaching and learning.

Focus on… A series of workshops that take a closer look at teaching and learning aimed primarily at those with greater experience and responsibilities.

Faculty of Medicine A workshop strand catered to those Imperial and NHS staff who teach Imperial College undergraduate medical students.

The new range of workshops is part of a broader provision that includes academic programmes, educational events and networking activities, consultancy and a variety of other services we offer to support education across College. Staff are encouraged to visit our newly redesigned website for further information and to book onto workshops for the coming year.

Further information is available on the EDU website.