The year in review 2014/15

Medicine@Nottingham School of Medicine Annual Newsletter 2015

The year in review 2014/15

Welcome

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Dean’s message Farewell and moving on

Dean’s message It is a great pleasure to introduce this newsletter which covers our second year as the school of Medicine. This has been another busy year in which we have successfully faced a lot of challenges, and some of the highlights are shown below.

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Medical education behind the scenes

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A better student experience VC’s Medal 2015 Student recognition Tribute

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Diversifying postgraduate course provision Medical education masters course revamped

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The year in review

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Expanding clinical doctoral training opportunities Social media success

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Making a difference through research

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Developing career opportunities Q&A with Dr Tiffany Hamilton, School Staff Development Officer

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First the results of the 2014 national Research Excellence Framework exercise. This external assessment shows that researchers within the School of Medicine have made marked improvements since the last national exercise six years ago, in fact we were the second most improved school in the whole University, and over 80% of our research was judged ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’. It is great to see medical research on such a strong upward trajectory. Congratulations to all involved and this includes not only the lead investigators but also the unsung heroes who made the work possible – junior researchers, technicians, postgraduate students, administrators and others. Well done to you all!

On the subject of research, Prof Hywel Williams led an important review of clinical and health services research for the University. This made several important suggestions, particularly about liaising more closely with our partner NHS Trusts and healthcare providers.

We are now working hard at that. Hywel has also been appointed as Programme Director for the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, which is a fantastic achievement.

We have received positive feedback from students on much of the education we provide at undergraduate and postgraduate level and I would like to thank staff

for their considerable efforts on behalf of students.

As we heard a year ago, however, aspects of the undergraduate student experience in the school were in need of improvement, and we have been working really hard to make things better. On another note, we have many successful postgraduate taught courses.

Prof Jo Leonardi-Bee has recently led a major review of these, with recommendations now leading to further improvements.

This year has also seen us concentrate further on our staff. We now have a Strategic Staffing Committee overseeing this area, a dynamic Career Development and Equity Committee (who led us to an Athena Swan bronze award when some lost this accreditation, really well done!) and importantly a Work, Health and Well-being Committee which is helping staff in all job families. Please use the services we have set up, engage with their work and even consider joining one of the committees to make further improvements; they are there to benefit us all.

Finally, as you will all know Prof John Atherton moved on in August to be the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. John has shown fantastic leadership over the last two years and I would like to thank him for the tremendous work he has done in setting up the School of Medicine and getting us off to such a good start. As incoming Dean, I plan to build on the excellent foundations that John has provided to help ensure that we do even better in our teaching and research, while also providing a vibrant and supportive environment for staff and students.

Professor Tony Avery, Dean of School of Medicine from 1 August 2015

Supporting through mentoring

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Farewell and moving on

The School of Medicine in numbers

Dear friends and colleagues,

New Harpin Scholarships

As you will all know, I moved on in August to be the new Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS). Although sad to leave the school, I have not gone far and with so many talented staff in the school, I am confident that Tony Avery, whom I am delighted to see as the new Dean of Medicine, will have excellent and enthusiastic support.

Dates for your diary

Acknowledgements The school wishes to thank all its divisions and units for your responses to editorial queries.

Editor: Chin Ling Koh Contributors: Tony Avery, John Atherton, Chris Hulse, Jonathan Hollands, Gill Doody, Paul Garrud, Jo Leonardi-Bee, Beth Coyle, Andrea Greener, Helen Budge, Amanda Collett, Joanna East, Andrew Culshaw, Pip Logan, Catherine Pritchard, Sue Heydon, Louise Hemming, Vivianne Whitney

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I am enormously proud of what we have achieved together. In the first year you all engaged strongly to develop the ethos and aims of the school and to set it all up. Really major changes were needed (and made) to bring the three and a half previous schools together and I am really grateful for the way you drove the new School of Medicine into existence. In the second year we launched a major project to improve the student experience. I feel that we have made a useful start here, but further efforts are needed. This must remain right at the top of our agenda. We also concentrated on improving the school environment for our staff in terms of well-being and equality, making that a focus of our yearly school event and winning our Athena Swan bronze award at first attempt. A major report on clinical research and our relationship with partner Trusts has

made recommendations which Tony and the school are now taking forward. And, led by Chris Hulse, we have looked again at our administrative structure, and in particular at how it supports our divisions, and we are making further improvements there. The school is maturing fast!

And my plans as the new Faculty PVC? I hope to bring the Faculty closer to the heart of the University so that we benefit more from interactions with other faculties and with professional services – we have so much to give to the University and others in the University can really help us. I want to build even closer partnerships outside the University, including with our NHS and other healthcare partners, and with industry. I am determined to make sure there are no barriers to pursuing topquality inter-disciplinary research and to introducing new thinking in education. Most importantly, I want to maintain a real focus on quality and excellence in all we do and to support our talented staff in all job families; our staff are the key asset of the University. I am looking forward to working further with you all in these areas.

Professor John Atherton, PVC and Dean of FMHS

Teaching & Learning

Medical education behind the scenes Reviews are underway to better deliver and support teaching and learning in medical education.

Almost every aspect of our undergraduate medicine programme has come under scrutiny, ranging from the curriculum, assessments, interprofessional learning, professionalism to student engagement and welfare. This major exercise not only demonstrates the School of Medicine’s commitment to giving our students the best medical training experience, but also prepares us well for the next General Medical Council’s assurance visit, scheduled for the Autumn 2016. The GMC team will be accrediting the whole of our region’s medical educational provision, both undergraduate and postgraduate.

A review of years one and two of the undergraduate medical course is also underway.

A new clinically relevant curriculum with endof-year summative assessments, more student

Key roles The successful training of our future doctors relies not least on our academics and colleagues in the NHS Trusts who serve important roles, such as clinical sub-deans, undergraduate teaching coordinators and members of the various course committees. They ensure that our students smoothly complete each stage of their training programme. Two of them are featured below.

Clinical sub-dean: Dr Pam Loughna I am a clinical subdean, in addition to my role as senior lecturer/ consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist based at City Hospital.

As clinical sub-dean, I offer pastoral support to any student on the clinical part of the course who feels they require additional help with problems ranging from health difficulties, exam failures, personal and family problems.

I see students by appointment and offer telephone appointments to students who are on attachment at locations outside Nottingham.

Many students need a single appointment but all the clinical sub-deans are happy to see students on a regular basis if needed. We can refer students on to various professional services including the university counselling service, occupational health, and the Training and

choice and early clinical contact will begin 2017/8.

New Dean of Medical Education Overseeing all the changes behind undergraduate medical education is Prof Gill Doody, who became the new Dean of Medical Education from September.

Gill was an undergraduate in London and undertook her postgraduate psychiatric training in Scotland. She has been an academic psychiatrist in Nottingham since 1999, working clinically with Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust in Adult Mental Health. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of the psychoses. She has held a variety of educational roles at postgraduate and undergraduate levels both locally and nationally.

Gill succeeded Prof Jim Lowe who retired from the University on 30 June. The school would like to thank Jim for his contributions to the medical school over the years and wish him good luck for his retirement.

Support Unit of Health Education East Midlands as well as educationalists within the School of Medicine Education Centre.

My past experience as a general practitioner (a role I had for three years before returning to hospital medicine to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynaecology) has proved invaluable in my clinical sub-dean duties, as has my in-depth knowledge of the medical course in Nottingham.

Pastoral support is very important to students, particularly when they enter the clinical phases.

Many students find the transition to CP1 challenging, and the course does not get any easier as it progresses through to CP3 and finals. Detailed knowledge of the course and progression rules etc. is essential so that correct information and advice can be provided. I am not a trained counsellor, so students who would benefit from formal counselling are referred to the appropriate service, but I can offer informed support that is relevant to the course.

The past year has been busy with looking at the plans for the change in the curriculum particularly in relation to CP2 as I am also module lead for obstetrics and gynaecology. We are also concerned with how Project Transform will impact on the clinical part of the medical course.

Interacting with students is very rewarding, particularly in my sub-dean role. Being able to support students through difficult times, whatever the background, is a privilege that is similar to that offered in my medical role.

Widening participation The school adopted a widening participation (WP) strategy this year with the aim to increase the number of entrants to medicine programmes from local, widening participation backgrounds, to support their progress and attainment at Nottingham, and to facilitate career decisions that include training and practice within the region.

The plan is to integrate diverse activities, for local pupils from WP backgrounds, into a co-ordinated outreach programme, that forms a ‘Pathway to Medicine’ in years 12 and 13. In addition, the school is expanding the number of places available on the six-year medicine programme (i.e. including a foundation year) from 10 to 25, and carefully considering how to use WP contextual information (e.g. family, neighbourhood, school) in admissions to the five-year medicine course. This strategy matches the aims of the national Selecting for Excellence project and the Department of Health, to double the proportion of medical students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds..

Chair of Course Management Committee for Clinical Phase 1 (CP1): Kwok-Leung Cheung I chair the Course Management Committee for Clinical Phase 1.

The committee provides operational oversight to ensure that the teaching programme is delivered across all sites in line with the aims and learning objectives of the curriculum, that student feedback is collected and acted upon, and that standards of education and assessments are maintained.

We liaise with our NHS partners and other educators involved. I am also part of other groups such as the Learning Community Forum, Assessment Unit and Undergraduate Curriculum Committee which provide strategic directions. I have more interactions with students in these forums in addition to the contact time during teaching sessions.

Over the past year, specific to CP1, we have revamped induction events, introduced a ‘clinical experience log’ into the log book, and a podcast on palliative care, and are working on introducing ‘resilience and mental health teaching’ in the near future. Furthermore, a pilot will start to deliver teaching at a new site in Chesterfield next year.

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Teaching & Learning

A better student experience Staff and students have been working in collaboration over the last 12 months to improve student experience within the School of Medicine.

Following on from a robust engagement process with students earlier in the year, the school has focussed on improving the way it communicates with its students and implemented measures to enhance teaching and learning.

consistency of teaching across all sites.

• Revised the ‘Clinical Phase (CP3) Friday afternoon teaching’ schedule to ensure the structure and content is stimulating and pertinent.

• P iloted an e-assessment system that gives students the tools to complete their Mandatory Assessment of Core Clinical Skills (MACCS) online.

Key improvements

• Improved the structure, content and functionality of Moodle.

To date we have:

• T rained ‘Echo 360’ volunteers to encourage teaching staff to record their lectures and uploaded them onto the learning platform.

• Introduced a monthly newsletter, which has regular articles from the Dean of the School, information about MedSoc, upcoming events, and updates on the Student Experience Project. The newsletter has been popular with students, with high levels of readership and response rates.

• I ncreased the visibility and profile of senior staff within the school, most noticeably, the Dean of the School. The various ‘Meet the Dean’ events and the introduction of a ‘Dean of Medicine’ inbox has given students the opportunity to communicate with the Dean directly.

In the pipeline Meanwhile, we are also working on other issues raised. These include improving the Hopper Bus service between the Medical School and the Royal Derby Hospital sites and reviewing the placement policy and procedures for fairness and transparency so as to improve the allocation of the Clinical Phase 1 (CP1) of the medical course.

• Built stronger links with NHS partners such as Trusts’ CEOs, directors and undergraduate coordinators to encourage better collaboration and

Other news

VC’s Medal 2015

Student recognition

Robert Cullum, who graduated in July and was President of the Widening Access to Medical School (WAMS) student society, has been successfully nominated to a Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for his work in widening participation.

Staff Oscars winners (2014/15)

“Widening participation in medicine is about making our work force of doctors truly representative of the diversity of our patients.”

Robert Cullum VC’s Medal nominee, School of Medicine

The VC’s Medal is for exceptional achievement by staff or students. Any current member of staff or current student at any of the University’s campuses in China, Malaysia or the UK may be nominated for the Medal. The award ceremony will be held in the Autumn term.

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A tribute to Anne-Marie

Three of our staff members were recognised in the fourth University Staff Oscars amid 600 nominations across 14 categories from Best Personal Tutor, Best Support Staff Member through to Best Use of Technology to Enhance Learning. They were: • Vibhore Prasad (Primary Care) — “Difficult Issue” Runner-up • Lorraine Pinnington (Medical Sciences & Graduate Entry Medicine) — Best Research Supervisor Runner-up • Nick Kythreotis (NUH Trust) — Best Member of Support Staff Runner-up

Lord Dearing Award for masters course administrator Congratulations also go to Sue Heydon who received The University of Nottingham Dearing Award on 10 July 2015. Sue joined the Division of Epidemiology and Public Health in May 2013 as postgraduate administrator for masters programmes in the division.

The customer service that Sue delivers to both staff and students is exemplary. Her Dearing nomination was put forward by our students, which reflects their recognition and acknowledgement of all the work Sue undertakes for them. With her focus on a positive student experience Sue has made an enormous impact on the learning environment within the division.

Anne-Marie Dwyer receiving the Staff Choice Award from Professor Sir Peter Rubin.

As you will all remember, Anne-Marie Dwyer was presented with the school’s first Staff Choice Award at a very emotional event on 18 December 2014. Sadly, Anne-Marie peacefully passed away on Christmas morning, 2014.

Anne-Marie worked for the University for 11 years and throughout all of that time, right up until three weeks before she died, she passionately dedicated her time to her work, her family and her friends. Colleagues and students alike loved and respected her immensely and still miss her kindness, sense of humour and unswerving and focussed attitude to work (and, indeed, her River Dancing!). ‘Going the extra mile’ for Anne-Marie was her day-to-day modus operandi; she never gave less than 110%.

It was a fitting testament to her wonderful character that the first School of Medicine Staff Award went to Anne-Marie.

Teaching & Learning

Diversifying postgraduate course provision Following a review of the postgraduate taught (PGT) provision in the School of Medicine, there are plans to attract more participants onto short courses offered on a continued professional development (CPD) basis.

Among the first to be offered is the “Advanced Statistical Methods” module, which is part of the Master of Public Health, led by Prof Sarah Lewis. These plans build on the school’s strengths identified in the PGT review which noted that our current provision through a portfolio of 16 high-quality PGT courses is vibrant and healthy, and in the main serving a current need.

Particular strengths noted were that the PGT courses were managed by engaged, dedicated, motivated and experienced Course Directors who work closely with administrative teams at course, division and school levels.

Course Directors have a passion for their subjects and focus on ensuring students receive a high quality educational experience. The courses are geared towards training students to become working professionals in the relevant vocational domain.

Demand for courses is strong when compared to the national market, and there is the scope to increase student recruitment, although this is moderated to some extent by the availability of resource, specifically the ability to supervise projects.

Areas for development or of risk include tight academic staffing resources, which is particularly evident at the course director level, the heavy reliance on external speakers to provide core academic content within some courses, and some inconsistencies in quality procedures.

but will continue to monitor and update this, especially given the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) review next year.

Action plans have been developed at school and course levels, to assist with implementation of the agreed changes, which are to take place from September 2015.

The review team was led by Prof Jo Leonardi-Bee (Director of PGT), with support from Iain Coyne (Deputy Director of PGT), Rebecca Reah (PG Manager), and May Beale (Finance Manager). The review team would like to thank all colleagues within and external to the school who contributed to the PGT review.

The School of Medicine offers a diverse portfolio of 16 high quality postgraduate taught courses, which focus on the common purpose of improving the health of people, communities, and organisations. These provide valuable training and practical skills needed to advance the careers of professionals and researchers. Our courses are delivered using different modalities (face-to-face, blended, and distance learning). Two of our courses are professionally accredited.

Find out more: www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/medmasters.

“Demand for courses is strong when compared to the national market, and there is the scope to increase student recruitment...”

Prof Jo Leonard-Bee Director of Postgraduate Taught Education School of Medicine

In response, the school has recently implemented a programme of standardisation to quality assurance procedures within its PGT provision,

Masters course news

Medical education masters course revamped The MMedSci in Medical Education has been completely revised and relaunched for September 2015.

Health Education East Midlands (HEEM), modules have been devised so that the course can be delivered by blended learning, which is a mix of distance learning, online tutorials and face-to-face seminar days.

The programme now features more clinical content alongside increased use of new learning technology that will enable more of its target audience – mid-career professionals – to study this popular course.

In addition, there will be a wider range of elective modules, offering students an improved choice and the opportunity to adapt the course to suit their individual interests and circumstances. It will also become easier for students to study stand-alone modular continuous

With development funding from

professional development (CPD) courses, which could then be credited for PGCert, PGDip or masters-level qualifications.

The new core programme covers the science, theory and practice of teaching and learning, with an expanded emphasis on teaching ethics, humanities and professionalism in medicine.

Specialist modules include: • Management and leadership in medical education

• Supervising PG trainees in the NHS (an educational supervisor course) • The use of technology in teaching and assessment • Simulation in primary and secondary care • Psychometrics • Problem-based learning Prof Reg Dennick is course director of the Masters in Medical Education.

Go to www.nottingham.ac.uk/go/ MMedSciMedEd to find out more.

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Feature

Vicky Wilson (left) received the prestigious Papin Prize for Lifetime Achievement at the 2015 Higher Education Technicians Summit from Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya.

The year in review Key achievements in the School of Medicine in 2014/15.

August 2014 Life Cycle 4

Over £750,000 was raised for Children’s Brain Tumour Research by the University’s Life Cycle 4 team of volunteer cyclists including Profs David Walker and Marion Walker, and Dr Susan Anderson from the school.

The amount exceeded the total raised in previous years.

October 2014 NIHR SPCR membership renewal

The Division of Primary Care’s membership of the NIHR School of Primary Care Research (SPCR) was renewed for five years.

Opening of new doctoral training centre

The new Centre for Doctoral Training in Rehabilitation and Healthcare Research, led by Prof Pip Logan, welcomed its first students from October 2014. (More on p8.)

School in successful joint £9-mln MRC bid

Prof Pip Logan’s team (Rehabilitation and Ageing) won the Patient Dignity & Experience Award in the event organised by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) for their “GtACH” programme.

Further funding for ARUK Pain Centre

The Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre, led by Prof David Walsh (Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology), was awarded a further £2m to support its unique research activities.

Professor named to prestigious US dermatology association

Prof Hywel Williams (Centre of Evidence Based Dermatology) was nominated to the American Association of Dermatology (ADA)—the oldest and most prestigious association of senior American dermatology clinicians and researchers.

Researchers from the School of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Medicine secured £7.7m from the MRC’s Clinical Research Infrastructure Initiative for innovative imaging technologies. Another £1.67m from the University will support the development of improved patient-friendly facilities for the new Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre (SPMIC) at its QMC and University Park sites.

November 2014

New mental health Centre of Excellence

Recognition of research excellence

The Centre for Translational Neuroimaging for Mental Health, led by Prof Peter Liddle (Psychiatry and Applied Psychology), was officially opened as part of the partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and the University.

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Accolade at inaugural East Midlands Innovation in Healthcare Awards

School awarded Athena SWAN Bronze

The school received the Athena SWAN Bronze Award—a real and tangible achievement for us as a new school.

Our action plan received a “very good” commendation.

December 2014 More than 80% of our research was judged to ‘worldleading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in the Research Excellence Framework 2014 exercise. (See p9.)

Feature

Inaugural Above and Beyond Awards

The school presented its first Above and Beyond Awards to Dr Jonathan Lund, Gemma Dracup, Dr Beth Coyle, April McCambridge, AnneMarie Dwyer and Prof Helen Budge for their commitment to furthering the mission, priorities, ethos and principles of the school.

THE Research Project of the Year

Prof Harminder Dua’s team (Clinical Neuroscience) won the Research Project of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards 2014 for identifying a previously undetected layer of the cornea.

Hunterian Professor

Prof Dileep Lobo (Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre) was awarded the Hunterian Professorship by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Du Boulay Professor of Neuroradiology Dr Rob Dineen (Radiological Sciences) was appointed as the du Boulay Professor of Neuroradiology by the British Society of Neuroradiologists for 2015–16.

February 2015 Final Year Medics Career Conference

More than 360 final-year students attended our second annual medical careers conference featuring representations from 30 specialties including the Royal College of Surgeons, the Army and a variety of speakers and seminars over three days.

cognition in people with hearing loss was chosen as the Editors’ Award 2014 by Ear and Hearing, the top ranked international peer-reviewed hearing science journal.

research group) was also ‘Highly Commended’ for ‘Working with Business’.

April 2015

Promotions to Professor

Prof Ian Hall named to Boots Chair of Therapeutics

Prof Ian Hall (Respiratory Medicine) was appointed to the historical Boots Chair of Therapeutics following the retirement of Prof Sir Peter Rubin in December 2014. The Chair was endowed by The Boots Company after the Medical School was founded at The University of Nottingham in 1970.

New Director for Hearing Research

Prof Michael Akeroyd took over as Director of the MRC Institute of Hearing Research from April 2015.

May 2015 Prestigious post-doctoral award

Dr Stephen Weng (Primary Care) won a NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) twoyear post-doctoral research fellowship amid stiff competition from eight other leading primary care departments in the NIHR SPCR.

May Fest returns

Prof Chris Hollis (Psychiatry and Applied Psychology) was named as an NIHR Senior Investigator.

Occupational health centre renews WHO collaboration

School researchers once again took part in welcoming the community and general public to the University’s annual May Fest to experience and find out more about our research in physiotherapy, pain, respiratory diseases, eczema and ageing.

June 2015

A paper from the NIHR Nottingham Hearing Biomedical Research Unit on how training the brain could be used to improve listening and

• Dr Sue Cooper (Primary Care) Promotion to Senior Research Fellow • Dr Rachel Clifford (Respiratory Medicine) Promotion to Research Fellow • Lucy Bradshaw (Nottingham CTU)

July 2015

Dr Neil Guha (Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre) was named as one of the first cohort of 17 Fellows under the NHS National Innovation Accelerator programme.

New director of NIHR HTA

Prof Hywel Williams will become Director of the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme from Autumn 2015.

UEG Lifetime achievement award

Joint Respiratory Day

Innovation award for spin-off

Major MRC and EPSRC award grant for molecular pathology research

The annual Joint Leicester and Nottingham Respiratory Research day was held for the first time in Nottingham with 150 delegates attending.

New Investigators Award

Top award for hearing loss paper

Promotion to Principal Research Fellow

Prof Chris Hawkey (Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre) was named recipient of the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Lifetime Achievement Award 2015 for his contributions to the field and to UEG in particular.

NuVision Biotherapies Ltd, founded by Dr Andrew Hopkinson (Academic Ophthalmology) won the Innovation Award at the Medilink East Midlands Business Awards on 10 June 2015.

The Centre of Organizational Health & Development, led by Prof Stavroula Leka (Psychiatry and Applied Psychology), has had its designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre renewed until 2019.

• Dr Pam Hagan (Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine) • Dr Luca Marciani (Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre)

NHS Innovation Accelerator

Prof Martin Orrell, previously at University College of London, assumed the directorship of the Institute of Mental Health.

Child mental health expert named NIHR Senior Investigator

Promotions to Associate Professor

The Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre hosted the annual British Neuro-Oncology Society (BNOS) conference in Nottingham.

New Institute of Mental Health director

The school introduced its Mentoring Scheme, led

by Dr Beth Coyle (Child Health), to support staff in their career development. (More on p11.)

• Dr Carol Coupland (Primary Care) • Dr Jo Leonardi-Bee (Epidemiology and Public Health) • Dr Birgit Vollm (Psychiatry and Applied Psychology) • Dr Joe West (Epidemiology and Public Health) • Dr Weiya Zhang (Rheumatology, Orthopaedics and Dermatology)

BNOS 2015

March 2015

Launch of school mentoring scheme

Academic promotions 2014/15 with effect from 1 August 2015

Beth Phillips (Medical Sciences and Graduate Entry Medicine) won a New Investigators Award from The Physiological Society for her study in exercise and health.

Papin Prizes for school technicians

Vicky Wilson and Lisa Storer (Academic Child Health) won the Papin Prizes for Lifetime Achievement and Contribution to Research respectively in the 2015 Higher Education Technician Summit hosted by the M5 Universities.

Waheed Ashraf (Biomaterials Related Infection

Led by Prof Alan Knox (Respiratory Medicine), the Nottingham Molecular Pathlogy Node (NMPN) programme has received a £2.4m grant from the MRC and the EPSRC to bring together informatics, computational modelling and molecular pathology to find new biomarkers for a range of diseases—particularly those affecting the digestive and respiratory systems and the liver. The NMPN is a collaboration between the University, the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and several industrial partners.

Philip Bath awarded Doctor of Science

Prof Philip Bath (Clinical Neuroscience) was awarded the prestigious Doctor of Science degree on 10 July 2015 by The University of Nottingham.

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Feature

Case study: Doctoral training centre

Expanding clinical doctoral training opportunities students, it will also strengthen our capacity to develop research in non-medical professionals and offer interdisciplinary doctoral training programmes.

The centre builds on the schools’ reputation for translational and applied clinical research in rehabilitation and ageing, as well as for their support of clinical research doctorates undertaken by part-time candidates who often have to balance their clinical roles alongside personal responsibilities.

The Centre for Doctoral Training in Rehabilitation and Healthcare Research welcomed its first students from October 2014.

So far it has secured studentships from the Alzheimer’s Society, Nottingham CityCare Partnership, Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC), and The University of Nottingham Impact Campaign to enrol seven students for 2014/15, with six more studentships in the pipeline for 2015/16.

Led by Prof Pip Logan from the Division of Rehabiliation and Ageing, the centre is a collaboration between the Schools of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Within three years it aims to have 18 students.

During this time the centre will be working closely with the CLAHRC, the AHSN, the MRC-ARUK Centre, the NIHR and Health Education East Midlands to secure reliable and ongoing funding to further establish the centre.

Not only does the new centre strengthen the schools’ commitment to attracting the best

Student profile Katie Robinson is a physiotherapist currently undertaking a full-time PhD looking at the development of a chair-based exercise programme for older people supported by a CLAHRC East Midlands studentship.

Why have you chosen to come to Nottingham?

“Being part of the CDT has helped me to combine my clinical and academic work by developing and delivering an exercise programme as part of my research. I chose Nottingham as the CDT has a vibrant community of clinical academics from a range of disciplines which provides a great peer support network. It also has international leaders in therapy research who have been invaluable in providing advice and support to develop my career.”

Case study: Recruitment

Social media success prospective students from key markets, Dr Catherine Pritchard, director of the Nottingham’s Master of Public Health (MPH) programmes, ran a promotion via LinkedIn and Facebook earlier this year, supported by Tom Wright, the University’s Digital Engagement Manager, and course administrator Sue Heydon.

Whilst the school succeeds at attracting a high calibre of students from across the world, our programmes continue to find new ways to raise their visibility.

There are at least 387 public health masters courses offered in the UK alone as seen on the popular FindaMasters.com website.

In a bid to stand out from the crowd and attract

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“After reviewing our 2014/15 applications we decided that we needed to target specific countries, where applications had declined,” said Dr Pritchard. “We consulted students as to whether they were members of LinkedIn and whether this would be a useful marketing vehicle.”

Preliminary results have proved promising. The campaign, targeted at health care professionals in Africa and the Middle East, ran from January 29 to February 12, during which 33 applications were received, compared with 18 in the same period a year ago.

Due to the strong calibre of applicants, 19 offers were made out of which there were 12 firm

acceptances, as of end April 2015, four months before the start of the new academic year. And all these at a cost of just over £600.

“From the metrics received the LinkedIn campaign appears to have worked well for us and we will review again in September once our new cohort has arrived,” Dr Pritchard said.

To keep her potential students engaged and committed to coming to Nottingham in September, Dr Pritchard sent personalised emails to candidates apart from general course newsletters and even carried out live Facebook chat sessions whereby applicants could ask questions of current students and the academics.

“It is pleasing to see that the use of social media has enhanced the visibility of our public health masters, and we will be investigating whether we can use this form of promotion to enhance recruitment on other postgraduate courses,” said Prof Jo Leonardi-Bee, Director of Postgraduate Taught Education of the School of Medicine.

Research

Making a difference through research Research within the School of Medicine is leading to important improvements in the health and well-being of patients and the population. This was reinforced by our strong performance in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.

Over 80% of our research was judged to be ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in REF2014. The following examples were highlighted by the REF panels where we were praised for the quality of our impact case studies.

Preventing the gastroduodenal hazards of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and aspirin through widespread adoption of proton pump inhibitors Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are valuable analgesics, but cause dyspepsia, ulcers and complications that can lead to death.

The benefits of acid inhibition by proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in patients taking NSAIDs has been systematically demonstrated in studies by Prof Chris Hawkey and colleagues. PPIs are now central to all major international guidelines. PPI co-prescription has increased worldwide and from 27.6% to 44.1% in the UK; and reduced the risk of hospitalisation for gastrointestinal bleeding by 54% and symptomatic ulcer by 63%, preventing up to 540 deaths per year in the UK. Saving lives through faecal occult blood screening for bowel cancer The 20-year follow of a major Bowel Cancer Screening trial led by Prof John Scholefield showed that biennial Faecal Occult Blood testing reduced bowel cancer mortality by 16%. Consequently, the Department of Health introduced a National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (NBCSP) in 2010. Since 2008, this has detected 16,000 cases of with bowel cancer, of which 21.6% were early cancers with a 95% chance of cure. The NBCSP probably saves around 3,500 lives each year in the UK; similar international screening programmes will save many more.

Development and implementation of UK tobacco control policy Research, policy development and advocacy by Prof John Britton and colleagues has significantly reduced harm to health caused by smoking, the largest avoidable cause of death and disability and of social inequalities in health in the UK. This has been achieved through two prevention strategies: 1. Conventional population- and individual-level interventions to prevent smoking uptake and promote smoking cessation; 2.

Novel population-level measures to encourage substitution of smoked tobacco with alternative, low hazard nicotine products as a harm reduction strategy.

QRISK – a new risk score to identify patients at high risk of cardiovascular disease for prevention The QRISK algorithm, developed by Prof Julia Hippisley-Cox and colleagues, predicts 10-year cardiovascular risk for patients. It is based on the QResearch database and is in routine use across the NHS. It is included in national guidelines from NICE and the DoH and in the GP Quality and Outcomes Framework. It is incorporated in over 90% of GP computer systems. The web calculator has been used over 500,000 times worldwide.

Responding to the threat of pandemic influenza Research by Prof Jon Van-Tam and colleagues directly impacted on the UK government’s response to the 2009 influenza pandemic, and influenced policy-making decisions. Jon’s research group was appointed as an official World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for pandemic influenza in 2010 and its research has “reduced the economic impact on Member States for pandemic preparedness”. In 2011, it secured £7m from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine the modes of influenza transmission using a human challenge model.

Preventing psychosocial risks and workrelated stress in Europe: Impact on policy and practice Research by Prof Stavroula Leka has produced national, international and industry guidance to tackle the problem of psychosocial risks in the workplace. The European Commission, the WHO, the Health and Safety Executive, major global corporations and small- and mediumsized businesses have adopted frameworks and recommendations resulting from this work. In the UK, the guidance has contributed to savings of almost £2bn over 10 years by improving employee health and reducing the costs associated with work-related illness.

Influence of stroke rehabilitation practice and assessment methods on national and international clinical guideline Research at Nottingham led by Prof Nadina Lincoln – reviewing and evaluating care of stroke patients – has influenced clinical practice by contributing to key national clinical guidelines.

Related research has also developed and validated existing stroke assessments by encouraging uptake in Europe, North America,

China and Japan. Nottingham researchers have achieved impact by working with stroke patients to develop care pathways and build networks of clinicians, occupational psychologists, clinical psychologists and patients so research translates effectively into real-world practice.

Adoption of new engineering solutions to reduce the patient experience of intense acoustic noise during Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Reduction of noise during MRI has been enabled through innovative engineering solutions developed by colleagues at the MRC Institute of Hearing Research in collaboration with Prof Deborah Hall (Nottingham Hearing BRU).

Intellectual property licensed to Optoacoustics Ltd and the resulting OptoActive™ active noisecancelling headphones for MRI are the only type commercially available, enabling free conversation between patients and clinicians. The product was launched in September 2012 and has sales in the USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Furthering impact The School Research Committee is planning to take the research impact agenda forward over the coming year.

It held a workshop on the topic on 24 June 2015, and Prof Trish Greenhalgh from Oxford University will be speaking on research impact at our School Annual Event on 14 December 2015.

We are looking to support researchers throughout the school by: • Helping colleagues to develop credible ‘pathways to impact’ in their grant applications; this will be one of the topics in the forthcoming series of grants workshops we are running • Exploring the best ways of tracking and recording research impact for use in future REF exercises • Promoting effective Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement in our research; this can help ensure that our work addresses issues that are important to patients and members of the public.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine 9

Working for us

Developing career opportunities Going forward The bronze award recognises our commitment to advancing women’s careers in STEMM academia and we certainly have seen a positive change in culture across the school with Athena SWAN principles becoming more embedded in much of the work that we do.

The school has made a commitment to extend this across all staff groups at all levels regardless of gender which can be seen from the work that has already commenced and that which is planned.

CDEC is currently preparing for re-submission in November 2015, aiming to achieve a silver award.

In the coming months we will drive forward the: • Implementation of the APM and TS action plan Dr Charlotte Bolton (left) and Andrea Greener (right) receiving the Athena SWAN Bronze Award on behalf of the school in November 2014.

In November 2014, the Career Development and Equity Committee (CDEC) led the school’s successful Athena SWAN bronze award.

This was a major achievement for such a new school, the school having been created just four months before we submitted our application.

The past 12 months has been a hive of activities working towards developing and delivering career opportunities for staff and delivering on what we said we would do in our Athena Swan submission. We have: • Developed an action plan for administrative, professional, managerial (APM) and technical services (TS) staff • Recruited four school staff development officers (SSDOs) as representatives of APM, TS, contract research staff and academic staff.

To date the SSDOs have set up a Contract Researcher Forum and a Technical Working Group. An APM conference is also planned for January 2016

Q&A with Dr Tiffany Hamilton, School Staff Development Officer 10 www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine

• I ntroduction of school-specific training for staff with line management responsibilities

• Introduced more secondment opportunities across the school to help with career development • I mplemented the School of Medicine Mentoring Scheme (See following page) • Clarified the process for membership of School Committees/Task and Finish Groups, enabling staff to have development opportunities • N egotiated, through the University’s Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Group (WinSET), the introduction of “late starters’ reserve parking areas” with the aim of helping those with caring responsibilities to park when arriving later • R eviewed the governance of the school to address any gender imbalance on committee membership • I ntroduced the school’s core hours policy and checklist • I mplemented the Personal Development and Performance Review (PDPR) checklist to help facilitate meaningful PDPR discussions between reviewers and reviewees • I ntroduced the School of Medicine awards to recognise and reward staff achievements • R evised and delivered a careers optimisation workshop for R&T staff

How long have you worked at the University?

I’ve been at the University since 2000 when I started my PhD in Biomedical Sciences. I have since completed two post-doctoral roles here in Pharmacy and Health Sciences and worked in research management for a short period in what is now the School of Health Sciences. Since 2011, I have been in my current role as a divisional manager and General Manager of the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Biomedical Research Unit.

• C ontinued development of work already started by the SSDOs • W omen’s Forum to facilitate networking, peer support and embedded leadership training • Shadowing scheme for senior academic women and supporting women to acquire management skills • F unded scheme to support recently returning carers in their careers

A local women’s network The latest initiative to be set up is the School of Medicine Women’s Network led by Prof Pip Logan to support the University’s activities and to fill gaps where exisitng women’s support systems are not available to School of Medicine staff.

The network aims, in particular, to establish a supportive environment where women’s careers can flourish. To do this, it will: 1. Set up a process where women in the school can shadow more senior staff in the University 2. Provide a system of support for women returning to work after being on the Career Leavers Scheme 3. Set up a network of communication between women in the School of Medicine

Why did you volunteer to be an SSDO? I’m what you might describe as a ‘people person’ and a ‘fixer’ – qualities which I think work well for SSDOs. Tell us more about the APM conference for January 2016.

I am determined the APM conference will be what the staff want hence I’m trying to visit most people and get that message across and ideas back again! I need direction as to what people want to do and learn about in

workshops so let’s work together to make it ‘your day’!

Tiffany has also signed up to be a mentor and mentee in the school’s new mentorship scheme.

(Find out more on the following page.)

Feature

Providing support through mentoring A pilot for the School of Medicine Mentoring Scheme launched in March this year and the first set of 54 mentormentee pairs were established after training in May.

Apart from some technical hitches with catering, the feedback from the training was generally extremely positive. People appreciated the interactive nature of the training and Amy’s enthusiasm and experience.

Prior to training, mentees were asked what were the three key things that they hoped to gain from the scheme. Their responses fitted into three broad categories:

“It was succinct and interesting,” Tiffany said.

“The training itself had a good amount of time working together, and powerpoints. It was quite a fun session and I felt I got a lot out of it.”

• Career progression

Support

• Sharing good working practice e.g. managing staff/ students, networking and working in isolation • Work-life balance and assertiveness

Motivations As a mentee, Dr Tiffany Hamilton from the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre said she hoped “to get some personal insight, as well as a reflection on the direction of my career, and understand the University, to investigate potential opportunities which may be open to me in the coming years when I feel ready to step to the next level.”

She has also signed up to be a mentor. “I want to help people who have any issues, problems or difficulties in their role, or to share experiences about how to view themselves and their current role and/or career progression, as an external, non-involved opinion can often be helpful,” she added.

Her motivations echo those of others who have joined the scheme, driven by a common desire to have an independent and objective colleague support them in their area of work.

Amongst other reasons, Dr James Law from the Division of Child Health, Obstetrics and Gynaecology said he was looking for a “critical friend” to challenge him and highlight areas for improvement as well as “an independent person to discuss ideas with”.

Training

“The delivery was excellent with the trainer obviously having an enormous wealth of experience,” Sue Lane commented.

The scheme has received strong support from the Dean of School Prof Tony Avery.

“I’m really excited about the mentorship scheme,” Tony said. “For those of you who have not yet been involved, there will be further opportunities.

This is a scheme to formalise mentoring in the school. Amy gave us the tools to help colleagues in terms of development at all levels of the school. One thing we need is colleagues at level 7 to put themselves forward as volunteers.”

He added: “I don’t think it is going to be a really onerous time commitment. I would encourage colleagues to come forward. It was a half day’s training and really worthwhile in terms of my time, even though I’m really busy. I have put myself down to have one mentee. It is unlikely that it is going to take up a lot of your time and there is real benefit and calling for it from colleagues at all levels.”

Further opportunities It is intended that the scheme will continue to grow and adapt to the needs of the school. In the future, we hope that all staff and final year PhD/DM students within the school will be able to access a mentor. We are currently in the process of organising a fourth set of training in order to accommodate additional Level 7 mentors.

“I have put myself down to have one mentee. It is unlikely that it is going to take up a lot of your time and there is real benefit and calling for it from colleagues at all levels.”

Prof Tony Avery Dean of the School of Medicine

The scheme is led by Dr Beth Coyle. Please email: ms-med-mentor@nottingham.ac.uk if you would like to be involved.

Dr Amy Iversen is providing training and consultancy for the scheme. Amy is a Consultant Psychiatrist at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital.

She has a special interest in mentoring and now runs her own consultancy, which helps institutions in medicine and science set up, run, and evaluate their own mentoring schemes. In order to maximise accessibility the training ran on three different days at the QMC, Derby and City hospital sites.

www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine 11

Events

Dates for your diary 2015 28-30 September Medical Freshers’ Week October–December School of Medicine grants writing course for researchers 7 October School of Medicine Annual Postgraduate Taught Programmes Induction and Social Event 22 October Impact Campaign Ceilidh 20 November East Midlands Dementia Day 25 November RDS-EM NIHR Fellowship follow-up event

14 December School Annual Event featuring talk on ‘Impact’ by Prof Trish Greenhalgh and the school’s Above & Beyond Awards presentation 18 December HEE/NIHR Integrated Clinical Academic (ICA) Fellowship Awareness event December (TBC) Winter graduation for BMedSci and taught masters December 2015 Medical school interviews

2016

25-27 January Getting to grips with evidence based dermatology 2016 course 29 January Nottingham Eye Symposium and Research Meeting

The School of Medicine in numbers 2014/2015 • 1743 (No. of undergraduates) • 362 (No. of masters students)

February–March Advanced Statistical Methods short course

• 407 (No. of postgraduate research students)

April–July School of Medicine grants writing course for researchers

• 30.4m (Core teaching and research income in £)

July Summer graduation for BMBS and BSc students

• 0.6m (Education contracts income in £)

January–February Medical school interviews

• 889 (Staff population)

• 23.0m (Research income in £)

• 4.6m (Services rendered income in £) • 0.6m (Endowments, donations and other income in £)

University Impact Campaign news

New Harpin scholarships Two new postgraduate awards in cancer studies have been made available to students, thanks to the generosity of a supporter of the University who wishes to enhance and support the provision of education in this field for generations to come.

The Harpin Scholarships for Cancer Studies offer financial support totalling £12,500 to each of two students undertaking either the MSc in Oncology or MSc in Cancer Immunology and Biotechnology from September 2015 and 2016.

The scholarships are open to application from all students and will be awarded based on an assessment of academic performance and financial need.

Prof John Robertson, Dr Susan Anderson, Andrea Greener, Andy Culshaw and Helen Taylor joined the University’s Life Cycle 5 team at the Morecambe Bay finishing line in aid of Dementia Research.

For further information please contact: School of Medicine The University of Nottingham Medical School, QMC Nottingham NG7 2UH

UoNMedicine @MedicineUoN blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/medschoollife w: www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine/contactus 12 www.nottingham.ac.uk/medicine

For more information, please email oncologymasters@nottingham.ac.uk.

If you require this publication in an alternative format, please contact us: t: +44 (0)115 951 4591 e: alternativeformats@nottingham.ac.uk The University of Nottingham has made every effort to ensure that the information in this newsletter was accurate when published. Please note, however, that the nature of the content means that it is subject to change from time to time and you should therefore consider the information to be guiding rather than definitive. © Copyright The University of Nottingham 2015. All rights reserved.