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Choosing between a clinical teaching fellowship and an anatomy demonstrator post

Authors: DavidRoberts
Publication date: 07Jul2015

Dedicatedteachingrolesareincreasinglypopularoptionsastimeoutfromformaltraining.David Roberts advisesonhowtochoose

betweentworoles
Clinicalteachingfellowshipsandanatomydemonstratorpostsarededicatedteachingrolesavailabletoanydoctorwhohascompleted
theirfoundationprogramme.Unusually,Ihaveundertakenbothroles.
AftercompletingmycoresurgicaltrainingIneededtimetoconsidermycareerpath,andsoIstartedaclinicalteachingfellowshipforthe
UniversityofBristol.InthispostIfailedtogetaradiologytrainingnumber.Ithereforeappliedforandsubsequentlyacceptedanofferasan
anatomydemonstratorattheUniversityofBristol,intheknowledgethatteachinganatomywouldbebeneficialwhenIstartedradiology.
ToanydoctorinterestedinteachingIwouldhighlyrecommendundertakingeitherpost,althoughIrealisethatchoosingbetweenthemis
notstraightforward.Whendeciding,considerthefollowingpointstohelpyoumaketherightchoice.

Teaching style and student groups

Thisisthemostimportantpointtoconsider,andseparatedescriptionsinBMJCareersgiveausefuloverviewoneachrole.[1] [2] [3]
AsaclinicalteachingfellowItaughtmedicalstudentsinyearstwotofive,butIspentmostofmytimewiththirdandfifthyears.Itaughtina
varietyofsettingsincludingwards,classrooms,theclinicalskillslaboratory,andthesimulationsuite.Iledmostofmyteachingsessionsso
lessonplanningwasalargepartofmyjob.Halfofmyteachingtopicswerenotpredetermined,whichmeantIhadthefreedomtotrymy
ownideasandinnovations.Ienjoyedtheteachingvarietyasaclinicalteachingfellow,butthewardbasedteachingrequiredalotof
preparation.
Selectingpatientsforsummativeassessmentwhereastudentwasobservedtakingafullhistoryandwasexaminedbytwosenior
clinicianswasoftenstressful.Wehadtoensurethatpatientswereavailableatsettimesandthatteachingdidnotinterferewiththeir
clinicalcare,suchaswardroundsandoutofwardexaminations.
IgottoknowmystudentsbetterasIhadfewerofthemherethanwithmyanatomydemonstratorpost,andIcouldtailormyteachingto
theirpersonalneeds.
Asananatomydemonstrator,Itaughtmedicalstudentsinyearsoneandtwoandyearonedentists.Throughoutmy10monthpost,Iwas
alsoinvolvedinteachingonundergraduateandpostgraduatecourses.Teachingtheentirefirstandsecondyeargroupsindivided
sessionscertainlymaderememberingnameschallenging,butitwasenjoyabletomeetandteachsuchavarietyofstudents.

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Thesenioranatomistsledmostofthetopographicalanatomyteaching,andinbetweentheirpresentationsanatomydemonstratorshelped
thestudentsfindtherelevantanatomy.ThedemonstratorsandIledpartsofsessionsandgavethepre-sessionformativespottests,
wherewewouldpointoutdifferentstructuresunderthecameraandthestudentswouldanswerbyturningpointpadsorgivewritten
answers.
Bothoftheseexperiencesconsiderablyimprovedmyconfidenceinaddressinglargergroups.Igavesmallgroupteachingsessionsto
secondyearstudents,whichrequiredlessonplanning,butthetopicandworkbookquestionswerepredetermined.Theanatomy
demonstratorsrantheundergraduatecoursesfromlearningtopicstodelivery,andinpostgraduatecoursesweusuallyranastationona
topicgiventousbythecourselead.Planningcoursestooktime,butindoingsoIgainedgoodexperienceinorganisationandtime
management.
Therewaslessplanningasananatomydemonstratorthanasaclinicalteachingfellowbecausemostsessionswereduplicatedforthe
differentgroupsofthesameyear.Learningtheanatomytakestimeandrequiresworkoutofhours,andtheanatomyteachingisrepetitive.
However,listeningtothesamethreelecturesononetopichasmeantIhaveabetterknowledgeofthematerial.

Personal development and achievements

WhenIaskedcolleagueswhytheyappliedfortheirposttheiranswer(s)usuallyfellintothreecategories:theydidnotknowwhichspecialty
toapplyfor,theyhadalwayswantedtotakeupateachingpost,ortheyfailedtogetatrainingpost.Adedicatedteachingrolewillbenefit
anyone,regardlessoftheirreasonsforapplying,butwhenchoosingapostyoushouldthinkaboutwhatyouwouldliketoachieve.
Myclinicalteachingfellowshipfundedapostgraduatecertificateinmedicaleducationandthestudydaysbroughttogethertheother
clinicalteachingfellowsfromdifferentpartsoftheregion.Atthesesessionswespokeaboutoursuccessesandfailures,innovations,and
howwemanagedstrugglingstudents.
AsaclinicalteachingfellowIalsohadonedayaweekforclinicalactivities,whichwasusefulforgainingtastersinradiologyandmeeting
clinicians.Althoughmyparticularfellowshipwaslessfocusedoneducationalresearch,Ididpresentmyteachinginnovationsatthe
nationalAssociationfortheStudyofMedicalEducationconference.
Teachinganatomyfor10monthshasdramaticallyimprovedmyanatomyknowledge,whichhasgivenmeahugeadvantageatthestartof
myradiologytraining.Equally,thosepreparingforsurgicalexamsorconsideringsurgicaltrainingwouldfindthemselvesinthesame
position.Ireceivedsomeinformaltrainingonteachingasananatomydemonstrator,butmostofmydevelopmentasateacherinthisrole
wasfromobservingseniors.
Bothrolesofferopportunitiestogainexperienceinteaching,meetotherdoctorswithaninterestinteaching,andexperienceinrunning,
marking,andstandardsettingexaminations.Myclinicalteachingfellowpostgavememoreopportunitiestoadapttomystudentslearning
needs,teachingvariety,opportunitiestouseteachinginnovations,afundedpostgraduatecertificateineducation,andsetclinicalsessions.
WhileinmyanatomydemonstratorpostItaughtmanymorestudentsandgainedmoreexperienceinpublicspeakingtolargergroups.My
anatomyknowledgehasgreatlyimprovedandIhavedesignedanddeliveredexternalcourses.

Choose the right role

Bothclinicalteachingfellowandanatomydemonstratorrolesatdifferentinstitutionshavedifferentjobspecifications,soyoushould
researchyourchosenroleand,ifpossible,findoutmorefromthosewhohavebeenorarecurrentlyinthatpost.
Toconclude,Ibelievebothroleshaveimprovedmyabilitytobeabetterteacheranddoctor,andIrecommendeitherposttoanyone
interestedinteaching.Enjoytheyear(ortwo)spentwithoutableep.
Competinginterests:IhavereadandunderstoodBMJspolicyondeclarationofinterestsanddeclarethefollowinginterests:Ihave
completedaclinicalteachingfellowshipattheUniversityofBristolattheBathAcademyandananatomydemonstratorpostatthe
UniversityofBristol.
References

1. FurmedgeD,VermaA,IwataK,etal.Theriseoftheclinicalteachingfellowships.
BMJ Careers 2013.[Link](http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?
id=20014362).
2. ShakerH.Theanatomydemonstrator.BMJ Careers 2009.[Link]
(http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=20000138).
Thissiteusescookiesandbycontinuingtobrowsethesiteyouareagreeingtoouruseof
cookies.Findoutmorehere. (http://group.bmj.com/group/about/legal/privacy#cookies)

3. MirzaO,StevenR.Experiencesofanatomydemonstrating.BMJ Careers 2013.[Link]

(http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=20011062).
David Roberts radiology trainee, South Wales Deanery, UK
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
CitethisasBMJ Careers;doi:

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