Pioneer of medical education honoured with national award
Press release: 26 June 2008
GP Val Wass – Professor of Community Based Medical Education at The University of Manchester – has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship by the Higher Education Academy.
The honour, awarded to only 50 lecturers and learning support staff this year, recognises excellence in teaching and learning in higher education by celebrating individuals who make an outstanding impact on the student learning experience.
Professor Wass, who is based in the University’s School of Medicine, became determined to change medical education 20 years ago while working with patients with kidney failure at a large teaching hospital.
She realised that the all-important impact of disease on the lives of patients and families was being overlooked in a doctor, rather than patient-orientated environment. Professor Wass has since worked to introduce a more holistic approach to medical student learning, developing an increased focus on primary care, patient-centred communication, professionalism and cultural awareness.
“Increasingly, medical students are learning in the community alongside traditional teaching hospital attachments,” said Professor Wass. “The approach is valued by our students, who recognise the importance of seeing patients in their home environment.”
One first year medical student after seeing patients in general practice said: “It showed me that being a bookworm won’t necessarily make you a brilliant doctor; practising medicine is an art and when dealing with patients we need to be armed with tools such as empathy and compassion and a genuine interest in people.”
Another added: “It is important to remember in all patients that you cannot, and should not, try to divorce disease from the patient and the impact it has on their life.”
Professor Wass’s medical education research has resulted in an international reputation and work with the Royal College of General Practitioners to support Family Medicine in the Third World, particularly in South Asia, where more community based health care is urgently needed.
Increasing migration and diversity of both patients and doctors present further challenges, but Professor Wass’s work continues to support these changes and ensure the medical workforce in the 21st century has appropriate culturally sensitive professional skills.
Professor Wass added: “Being awarded a National Teaching Fellowship is a great honour. I am delighted that the value of training doctors to communicate well and understand the patient’s point of view better is being acknowledged.”
The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), launched in 2000, is part of an overall programme to raise the status of learning and teaching in Higher Education. Funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland (DELNI), the scheme comprises two strands, Individual National Teaching Fellowship Awards and Projects.
The Individual strand of the scheme aims to raise the profile of learning and teaching and provide a national focus for institutional teaching and learning excellence schemes. Higher education institutions in England and Northern Ireland were able to nominate up to three staff who could demonstrate excellence in supporting the student learning experience in higher education.
Each of the 50 Fellowship winners will receive an award of £10,000, which may be used for their personal and/or professional development in teaching and learning. The new Fellows come from universities throughout England and Northern Ireland. They will receive their awards at a ceremony and dinner in London on September 24.
Professor Shirley Pearce, Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University and Chair of the Advisory Panel for the Individual Awards, said: “These Fellows represent a diversity of disciplines and specialisms from a wide range of institutions. Their achievements in promoting excellence in teaching and learning are hugely impressive and of great benefit to students and staff across higher education.”
Notes for editors
Professor Wass was appointed Professor of Community Based Medical Education at the University of Manchester in 2003 after completing an International Masters in Health Professional Education in Maastricht. Her work has also harnessed the importance of designing assessments to drive learning and ensure appropriate educational impact. Her PhD on assessing clinical competence was awarded the rare Dutch accolade of ‘cum laude’.
The Higher Education Academy works with universities and colleges, discipline groups, individual staff and organisations to help them deliver the best possible learning experience for students. It has a triple focus on national policy, institutional support, and subject and staff development.
The Academy is an independent organisation funded by grants from the four UK funding bodies, subscriptions from higher education institutions, and grant and contract income for specific initiatives. Its functions include the accreditation of programmes and of individuals as registered practitioners, research and evaluation, and a UK-wide Subject Network providing discipline-based support for learning and teaching.
For more information visit the Higher Education Academy website.
An image of Professor Wass is available on request.
For further information contact
Prue Jeffreys
Higher Education Academy
T: 01904 717548
Or:
Aeron Haworth
Media Officer
Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences
The University of Manchester
T: +44 (0)161 275 8383
M: +44 (0)771 788 1563
E: aeron.haworth@manchester.ac.uk
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