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SA MET Unit Newsletter
Issue 27 | February 2015
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Latest News - Spotlight on Education
Associate Professor Alison Jones, Manager, South Australian Medical Education and Training (SA MET) Unit
Firstly, we would like to wish everyone a happy New Year and present our first newsletter for 2015, focusing on education and training. I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate both
Dr Andrew Vanlint who was the South Australian 2014 Junior Doctor of the Year and Dr Alexa Potter who was the South Australia Nominee for the 2014 Clinical Educator of the Year Award. Andrew received his award at the national Prevocational Forum late last year, and talks more about his achievement below.
I would also like to highlight the Transforming Health consultation, please take the opportunity to provide your feedback by Friday
27 February 2015. The consultation is an opportunity to highlight how valuable teaching and research is and how it can be considered as part of the Transforming Health agenda - we encourage you to use this as an opportunity to put forward your views on how we can do things better to support junior doctor education and training.
The year ahead...
Ronda Bain, Regional Training Manager, SA MET Unit
This year will be a year of change, challenges and innovation for junior doctor education and training in South Australia. The launch of Transforming Health, the national review of medical internship and preparation for the new Royal Adelaide Hospital all link to the training and education of our junior doctors. It is important that we ensure that education remains a central consideration in all developments. We need to consider how training and education programs can be flexible, innovative and responsive.
Quality Assurance: Recently the SA MET unit coordinated a survey of the quality of training experienced by junior doctors and registrars in South Australia. In December 2014, Trainee Medical Officers from four Local Health Networks were invited to share their views on their educational environment via an online survey for the Quality Assurance of Training Settings (QATS) project. Over 200 Trainee Medical Officers provided responses anonymously. The SA MET Unit staff are currently analysing this information and preparing a report of the findings. Due to the success of this project the Quality Assurance of Training survey will be undertaken twice yearly.
Online Learning: the SA MET Unit staff have expanded the interactive platform - Online Training and Information System (OTIS), for support of education and training for Trainee Medical Officers. This year all Medical Education Units have commenced utilising OTIS to support intern orientation and are gradually utilising this platform more and more. Trainee Medical Officers are encouraged to discuss with their Medical Education Unit their needs and how this tool could be utilised. For more information, click here.
Workshops: The SA MET Unit is also ensuring that we respond to requests for new training or identified gaps in training. We are pleased that the Managing Workplace Stress and Conflict will be delivered for the first time at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) in March 2015. Plans are underway to repeat this training at other venues. Later this year we will launch a training day for interns to assist them in preparing for the step up to the PGY2 role.
In addition, we continue to deliver the Professional Development Program for Registrars (see training side bar).
An important part of education is meeting other Trainee Medical Officers and learning from peers. This often occurs at forums and conferences. In 2014 our winner of the South Australian CMPEC Junior Doctor of the Year award, Dr Andrew Vanlint, was sponsored by the SA MET Unit to attend the Australian and New Zealand Medical Education and Training Forum (ANZMET) in the Hunter Valley. In 'A moment with…' we were able to chat with Dr Vanlint regarding his intern year and also Dr Lynn Hemmings from Tasmania, who was awarded the 2014 Clinical Educator of the Year.
This year is going to be an exciting year and we would welcome any comments or ideas that you may have to assist in the development of further education and training. Please contact Ronda Bain on 8226 5913 or email with any ideas for training.
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A moment with....
Dr Andrew Vanlint, South Australian 2014 CMPEC Junior Doctor of the Year
The best things about my year as an intern…
Working alongside great colleagues. I love how collaborative modern medicine is and interns are right in the heart of it. Working with the medical team, nursing staff, allied health and involving services outside of the hospital. I've enjoyed getting to know many passionate, skilled professionals and how to best utilise their particular skills or services. It's fun having the comradery of your team and fellow interns, which make the best moments. It's been very satisfying to be doing what I've been preparing for over the past 7 years, growing beyond what medical school has prepared me to be.
The biggest challenge in my career…
Balancing my work-life and home-life. I was married to Ann for two years before my internship. Having seen many people struggle to be a good spouse and a good doctor, I committed myself to being husband first and doctor second. It's still something I'm learning to do well. I expect it to be a continuing challenge in the coming years of medical training.
As the South Australian 2014 Junior Doctor of the Year, you attended the ANZMET Forum. What was your highlight of the forum?
Definitely the people I met. At the opening reception two joint-recipient RMOs from NSW were presented with awards, after their individual accomplishments were outlined. I felt humbled to have been nominated from South Australia (SA). It's inspired me to make a bigger impact on pre-vocational education and training, here in Adelaide. I met a range of presenters and JMOs who were authentic, passionate and committed to the same vision which was refreshing and inspiring.
Outside of your ‘day to day work’ in your PGY2 role, what is an exciting project you will be working on this year?
After ANZMET I wanted to start something that would benefit interns in my hospital in years to come. One of my ideas is targeting the transition period at the beginning of internship. This year, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) will be piloting a Near-peer Intern Mentorship Program. We're in the final stages of putting it together.
In my spare time…
I spend a lot of time with my wife who is a classical pianist; we attend a lot of the classical concerts. We're planning to move to Germany next year, so that she can pursue her musical studies and I intend to work there. I'm about 80% excited and 20% very scared about our upcoming adventure. We're having German language lessons and researching the University programs available. I'm also the worship coordinator at my church, which I'm very passionate about - singing, drumming and playing guitar.
Dr Lynn Hemmings, 2014 Clinical Educator of the Year
Highlights of my career…
In the final week of the intern year I organise a dinner for the interns. The annual dinner is a highlight for me as I see the camaraderie and maturity that has developed amongst the interns during the year and their excitement as they move to PGY2 positions.
The biggest challenge in my career…
Identifying junior doctors in distress early and then ensuring that the best possible support is provided to them.
In 2014, you were awarded the Educator of the Year. What are your tips for new supervisors to engage with junior doctors?
I encourage supervisors to spend time with the junior doctor early in the supervisory relationship, to set clear expectations and to establish rapport – this avoids a lot of potential problems later on. I also feel that it is important for supervisors to have great listening skills, to remember to give positive feedback and finally to have a sense of humour!
If we skipped forward ten years, what major change will occur that you think might affect medical education?
I think there will be increasing expectations of higher quality of care by consumers, increasing complexity of care and decreasing resources. We may see medical education move further towards interprofessional education that involves more team-based activities and knowledge sharing among health professionals.
In my spare time…
My Christmas gift was a Cavoodle puppy – she takes up all my spare time!
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Professor Kevin Forsyth, Chair, SA MET Health Advisory Council
The largest potential influence on medical education and training in South Australia is the Transforming Health initiative. There is clearly an imperative for health services to be delivered, as efficiently and safely as possible. Health is not just delivery of clinical services however, but includes many other elements. These elements include education and training of its future and current workforce. It would therefore be presumed that the impact on education and training are considered in the Transforming Health proposals. There is little mention of the effects the suggested reforms will have on education and training.
Health and training are interwoven; there are good partnerships in South Australia between Health services and the Health training sector. A formal and systematic consideration of the Transforming Health agenda impacts on our health education. Training systems should be considered by these partners, in a collaborative manner as a component of the Transforming Health agenda.
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