EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Dr Stuart Pattinson, Head: Clinical Skills Unit, School of Clinical Medicine

Stuart joined UUME as an associate clinical lecturer from November 2016 to 2018. He subsequently took a senior position as the Head of the Clinical Skills Unit. He is hardworking and very diligent and enthusiastic about medical education. His passion is to interacting with students and teaching.

He is an excellent leader as praised by one of his team members, “Dr Pattinson is a leader par excellence, a servant at heart and is compassionate. He is hardworking and goal-oriented. He makes space for others to join in the work of the unit with him and he actively harnesses an environment of harmony for his team to co-exist and work together in. He is available to students and co-workers alike, lending an ear and advising and assisting where he is able”.

He is an excellent manager and has developed systems to improve the operations of the unit. The team seamlessly transitioned to working remotely during the pandemic due to his enthusiasm and acute awareness of everyone’s unique situation. He is also a very resourceful academic.

This was apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic where we had to move to online teaching. He, together with his team was very creative in flipping the classroom. They recorded videos used for skills sessions where students would watch the videos before coming to skills sessions and put their prior learning to practice during face-to-face sessions. This is the period where we did not have simulated patients, but Stuart and the team found other ways for students to practice percussion using 5-litter buckets half filled with water to practice. He thrives as a creative teacher/trainer whose sole mandate is to move his students up with him. Stuart’s agility during Covid-19 has resulted in a changed assessment methodology. The programmatic assessment format has ensured that students are benefitting from the learning experience by being able to improve on identified areas of struggle. He is very scholarly as evidenced by his being a PhD candidate and published researcher.

He keeps the unit informed of pedagogical development related to clinical skills by hosting regular journal club meetings. He encourages all his team members to advance their careers in whichever way they see fit. These characteristics and examples are the reason why the Clinical Skills Unit is an excellent place to learn, work and grow.