APPENDIX B

Job Description for F2 Medical Education Placements 2009

Department of Medical Education and the Medical Teaching Unit

SheffieldUniversityMedicalSchool

MMC and the GMC emphasise that it is a duty of all doctors to be involved in the further education of qualified doctors at all levels. Traditionally there has been little specific exposure to teaching methods in either the undergraduate or postgraduate curriculum and this has hampered teaching duties. Foundation training is about gaining generic skills which can be applied across all specialties and throughout an entire career, generic teaching skills are becoming an essential tool for the modern doctor.

The Medical Education placement is for four months based in the Medical Teaching Unit at the University of Sheffield Medical School with additional duties for the Department of Medical Education. At any time four foundation year trainees are attached to the department and all contribute to the duties of the post equally.

The Medical teaching Unit is a large modern unit which accommodates all of the cadaveric human anatomy teaching within the University of Sheffield. There are 24 individual tutorial bays each equipped with a stand alone PC for anatomy teaching and the main body of the department can accommodate two classes simultaneously with up to 14 cadaveric dissections in each class. The department has three technical staff that prepare the cadavers for dissection and provide any prosections that may be needed for the teaching sessions. Within the medical school undergraduates perform the anatomical dissections under the supervision of the demonstrators in anatomy. There are eight demonstrators, four permanent and four from the foundation rotations. During term time eight hours of formal undergraduate teaching are timetabled each week. Duties of the post include:-

  • Within the Medical teaching Unit the duties of the post include the direct supervision of the anatomy practical classes of Phase 1A and 1B (first and second years). Preparation and presentation of weekly anatomy tutorials to the other foundation year trainees under the direction of the Head of Department or his Deputy. The day to day supervision of any elective medical students in anatomy. Prosection of the cadavers for the teaching sessions and preparation of other teaching materials.
  • Demonstration in Physiology practical classes, to medical undergraduates, under the supervision of the Department of Biomedical Science.
  • Small group teaching of specific clinical skills such as history taking, examination, CPR and simple procedures in the Clinical Skills Centre.
  • Small group tutoring for the Integrated Learning Activities (ILA’s) supervised by the Academic Unit of Medical Education.

The undergraduate curriculum at the University of Sheffield is the responsibility of the Academic Unit of Medical Education. F2 doctors attached to medical education are allocated duties in the ILA (integrated learning activities) part of the course, which is an important, self-directed learning activity requiring facilitation and guidance. Appropriate training will be given, under the direction of the course ILA theme leader. There are additional duties in the Clinical Skills teaching centre, coaching and demonstrating practical skills and techniques in clinical methods and simple practical procedures, in various parts of the course.

There is no formal on-call commitment with this post but trainees can choose to provide on-call cover for various clinical departments at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, if required. Trainees are encouraged to arrange one clinical session in a Hospital of their choice during the tenure of this post. The Medical teaching Unit has fixed undergraduate teaching commitment on Monday and Tuesday Mornings and these parts of the timetable are fixed. All other sessions are flexible to fit in with the overall Medical School Timetable.

Please note the mix and range of the above duties in any Medical Education placement is dependent on the time of year and stage of the undergraduate curriculum. Trainees should note that anatomy demonstrating is timetabled at particular times of the year in the curriculum and as such the amount of anatomy demonstrating available as part of the Medical Education placement varies considerably depending on the time of year.

Monday / Tuesday / Weds / Thursday / Friday
Morning / Undergraduate anatomy teaching / Undergraduate anatomy teaching / Clinical Skills teaching / Clinical Skills teaching / Physiology practical
Afternoon / Postgraduate anatomy teaching / Postgraduate anatomy teaching / Clinical Skills teaching / ILA tutorials (phase 1) / ILA tutorials (phase 3b)