Vuyo, an AfOx fellow at the University of Oxford and academic literacies lecturer at CPUT in South Africa, reflects on digital literacies and transforming South African Higher Education. This episode of ‘Conversations in Med Ed’ is a departure from the usual Health Professions Education conversations to look at Higher Education more broadly. In episode thirteen we chat with Dr Vuyokazi Mntuyedwa, a current AfOx fellow (in the African Oxford initiative – working with Dr Danica Sims) and academic literacies lecturer from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. Vuyo briefly shares her journey from a first-generation student to university lecturer before diving deeper into her AfOx research on digital literacies of first-year students transitioning from high school to university. She ends by reflecting on 16 June, Youth Day in South Africa, calling on students to be proactive in seeking educational opportunities and working with universities to transform Higher Education. Burning buildings mentality culture when there is a disagreement between the students and the management must end. If you would like to connect with Dr Mntuyedwa, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vuyo-mntuyedwa-phd-157477b8/) or email her at: vuyo.mntuyedwa@gmail.com.

Avita Rath, speaks of feeling like an imposter as a dentist in Health Professions Education and the invisible work of emotional labour. In episode twelve we chat with Dr Avita Rath, a periodontic dentist by training from India, currently working in Malaysia. Avita reflects on her inherent love for education, and her informal teaching experiences as an undergraduate and postgraduate student, before undertaking a formal qualification in Medical Education. She continues to share her experiences of alienation in the field, feeling like an imposter as a dentist in the hierarchical field of Health Professions Education – from her student days to her professional experiences. This is followed by discussing her latest publication on ‘emotional labour’. Avita shares the history of the term and background research, before diving deeper into this gendered and cultural invisible labour. She ends by recommending that we need to talk about our emotions and normalise the idea of emotional labour, as a way to shift current culture and practice – in opposition to checklist approaches. Avita is open and honest in sharing her personal experiences throughout, which is likely to resonate with many listeners (as it did with me!). If interested in delving into Avita’s work, her Google scholar profile can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=N15xbxUAAAAJ&hl=en, her Medical Education “When I say... emotional labour” publication here: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15699 and if you would like to contact Dr Rath, you can email her at: drrathavita@yahoo.com or avitashanti@segi.edu.my. You can follow her on X/Twitter: @drravrgreen.

Ghaith Alfakhry, a dentist by background shares his journey into medical education his passion for advocating for change in Syria. In episode eleven we chat with Dr Ghaith Alfakhry, a dentist turned educationalist, from Syria. He shares his journey into medical education as a dentistry student, where teaching English as a second language sparked his interest in teaching and learning. This was followed by his first educational research project, looking at why medicine is taught in Arabic in Syria, when other Middle Eastern countries teach it in English. As an early career researcher, Ghaith has published numerous research papers (which can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U2Q3iTIAAAAJ&hl=en) on the learning environment in Syria and assessment – all sparked by his own educational experiences. His passion, self-determination and resilience come through clearly, along with a growth mindset, viewing the peer review process as an iterative learning journey – welcoming reviewing feedback. Ghaith then goes on to speak about AMES – the Association for Medical Education in Syria (see AMES’ YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@AMES-AssociationforMedicalEduc where I joined Ghaith for a MedEd debate on ‘assessment destroying learning’) – a non-profit, non-governmental organisation he has founded and runs, detailing the immense challenges to health professions education in Syria, along with his vision for transforming it. He ends with a call to those thinking of medical education to take the leap – it is a rewarding career. If interested in contacting Dr Alfakhry, please email him at: ghaithalfakhry@gmail.com.

Louise Allen, a dietician by background and currently a post-doctoral researcher in Medical Education, shares her personal experiences and research on social learning journeys and effective CPD. In episode ten we chat with Dr Louise Allen, a post-doctoral researcher in Medical Education at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a consultant for continuous professional development (CPD). Louise shares her journey from practitioner to PhD at Monash University in CPD and its impacts – recommending finding a research project you are interested in and making sure you find the right supervisor. She mentions needing to get to grips with educational theory and its language. Louise was drawn to CPD based on her own experiences formal (and informal, apprenticeship and self-regulated style) learning during her doctoral and of the (often) ineffectiveness of CPD offerings required of health professionals – wondering why that might be and how it can be improved. This includes critiquing current evaluation models, such as recognising the limitations current approaches (like Kirkpatrick’s model) that do not explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ certain interventions actually work! In terms of understanding the ‘whole story’ Louise also shared her Fulbright research, a narrative study on physicians’ CPD learning journeys, and the many challenges of CPD, the importance of informal learning opportunities (and how they should count towards CPD), and social learning (especially in a world of online education). She ends by encouraging learners to not be put off by new language of educational research, developing research projects that actually interest others and have real world impact, putting the ‘quality’ (rigour) back in qualitative research and being paradigmatically coherent, and, lastly, finding a good mentor. You can read Louise’s publications here (https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1039018-louise-allen). The other papers she recommended are “How to discuss transferability of qualitative research in health professions education” by Stalmeijer et al. (2024) in The Clinical Teacher and “Shedding the cobra effect: problematising thematic emergence, triangulation, saturation and member checking” by Varpio et al. (2017) in Medical Education.

Chatting with Nabeela Kajee on the complexity of empathy, and how it can be cultivated in health professionals and trainees In episode nine we chat with Dr Nabeela Kajee, a medical doctor and currently a Rhodes Scholar and doctoral student in Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. She shares her journey into medical educational research, prompted by a curiosity for evidence-based education and encouraged through mentorship, before diving into more detail on her doctoral research. Her intersectional research looks at mindfulness, communication and empathy – with empathy as the focus of this conversation. In the increasingly challenging context of healthcare (post-COVID-19, the dehumanised digital world, resource limitations, worsening mental health and growing burnout), the necessity for empathy, as a (re)humanising orientation, is emphasised. How empathy is defined (more than just cognitively based but affective and embodied too), and how it can be cultivated, through exploring the concept of an “empathy tank”, are discussed. While empathy is complex and requires nuance, several practical recommendations for sustainably developing, protecting, replenishing and practicing it across the trajectory of a health professionals training and career are shared.

Aditi, an OBGYN registrar reflects on her doctoral journey sharing the importance of joy in research, good supervisory relationships, having a thick skin and building a CV that tells a story In episode eight we chat with Dr Aditi Siddharth, a senior obstetrics and gynaecology specialist training in Oxford, about her (not-straight-forward) doctoral journey exploring surgical training using simulation. She reflects on how she meandered into educational research through an opportunity to effectively organise education in the NHS, given freedom to enhance shared learning in a multi-disciplinary team, before enrolling in a master’s programme in surgical science and practice which led into a DPhil. While COVID-19 may have raised concerns around the need to improve surgical skill training, Aditi found that it had been an ongoing challenge – perhaps worsened by failure to make full use of available simulation training. Aditi recommends using simulation alongside traditional training in surgery, while drawing on Kopta’s theory of learning technical skills for her intervention studies. She encourages those thinking about branching into educational work or formal study to first find what they are truly interested in and what brings them joy, before diving into a long-term commitment. The importance of finding a good supervisor and having a support system around you are emphasised, along with being open to learn, understanding the research projects evolve over time and the necessity of having a thick skin. She also recommends reflecting on what story your CV tells about who you are. You can connect with Aditi at: aditi.siddharth@stx.ox.ac.uk

Geoff shares his move from internal medicine to education and faculty development, reflecting on the broader culture and priorities of medicine and the need to emphasise education. In episode seven we chat with Dr Geoff Stetson, an internal medicine clinician, Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education and Director of Clinical Faculty Development at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine. He starts at the beginning by reflecting on his educational influences from childhood, through to ‘catching the teaching bug’ as a teenager, up to positive and negative experiences as a medical student and resident. Geoff shares that education must be valued and prioritised, which comes back to challenging the broader culture of medicine and education, and how education should be emphasised as a high-stakes practice. Being a good teacher should not be voluntary – but fundamental! Regarding his supervision and faculty development work, he provides practical tips for effective feedback conversations that are agentic, non-hierarchical, participatory, student-centred and encouraging. MedEdMentor, an AI-powered website co-created by Geoff, as another educational support, is discussed, rooted in his own educational learning experiences on the complexity of social sciences scholarship and likely to resonate with many listeners. Excitingly, as MedEdMentor celebrates its first year, with 1800 subscribers from 100 countries, Geoff issues an invitation to collaborate, using this website as a support for the amplification of marginalised scholarship from the global South. You can connect with Geoff on LinkedIn, see his research at his Google scholar profile and visit MedEdMentor.

Luzaan honestly and passionately shares her journey from physiotherapy into interprofessional education, including details on how to innovatively embed IPE within health professions education for education and health impact In episode six we chat with Dr Luzaan Kock, a lecturer in the Interprofessional Education (IPE) unit in the Faculty of Community and Health Sciences at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. Luzaan never planned to be anything other than a physiotherapist, but due to frustrations felt in a lack of impact in her clinical practice she made an unexpected move into Health Professions Education – specifically IPE. Dr Kock authentically and passionately shared her learning and the exciting IPE research and innovations she has been a part of, including using social constructivist and Indigenous Knowledge System approaches to IPE, and worldclass in-person and virtual, local and international, ‘world cafes’ and ‘amazing races’. The values and principles of IPE are clear throughout. She ends by stating that while she has had much to learn and made mistakes along the way (addressing her ‘flaws’ but also encouraging listeners not to be afraid to make a ‘fool’ of themselves), she has found her place and feels deep joy and fulfilment in her new, impactful profession. Please feel free to connect with Luzaan via LinkedIn at Luzaan Kock-Africa [http://www.linkedin.com/in/luzaan-kock-africa-73076581], view her research on her Google Scholar profile [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GNUCp4wAAAAJ&hl=en]; more specifically, here are some of her publications on: IKS [https://journals.co.za/doi/epdf/10.7196/AJHPE.2019.v11i4.1238], Amazing Race [https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/ajhpe/article/view/1664/1063], AfriVIPE [https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/ajhpe/article/view/2486/1070] which were mentioned in this episode. Lastly, you can email Luzaan at: lkock@uwc.ac.za and see the university’s IPE unit webpage here: Interprofessional Education Unit [https://www.uwc.ac.za/study/all-areas-of-study/units/interprofessional-education-unit/overview]

In episode five we chat with Dr Chris Kowalski, a consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, from the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, where he is the simulation lead and is involved in all stages of medical education. Chris chats about his journey into Medical Education and his particular interest in simulation, triggered by witnessing a lack of experiential learning in psychiatry, for instance communication in complex clinical situations, such as mental health crises, and interprofessional collaboration. When reflecting on the intersections between education and research, be pragmatic and strategic in including research in educational designs and activities, such as being clear on the purposes of each but also evaluating said innovations. Chris shares the importance of career planning, dedicated time and maintaining boundaries (while juggling multiple roles and competing demands), and the necessity of working in teams. He ends with a challenge: how can we shift dispositions, values and ways of being, as opposed to merely developing knowledge and skills, in health professionals? You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn and see his research at Research Gate. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In episode four we chat with Associate Professor Simone Titus-Dawson from the Centre for Health Professions Education in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Simone shares her organic multi- and inter-disciplinary journey from Sports Sciences to Gender Studies to Digital Education in the Health Sciences. Simone outlines her research from game-based teaching and learning, to considering the digital divide and access, towards virtual and augmented reality use in anatomy and physiology, as well as culturally sensitive stories developed with AI. Foundational practical recommendations around technology-use in education include meeting students where they are at, starting small, and ensuring that technological tools used are aligned to learning outcomes and scaffolded into digestible chunks. When thinking about possibly undertaking postgraduate studies in Health Professions Education, Simone offers advice for different career stages, with recommendations for mentorship and coaching, and “knowing your why”. Simone ends with a call for researchers in the global North to recognise the excellence of work in Health Professions Education from the global South – often done under challenging environments – and for equal partnerships. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In episode three we chat with Professor Richard Canter from the University of Oxford. He reflects over the decades of his fascinating career, sharing his story of how he, a surgeon, became involved in medical education and research. This includes curriculum, assessment, quality assurance and reforming surgical education in the UK (and many other settings), the importance of collaboration and the open sharing of intellectual property (for global change), and issues of power and hierarchy (and competing interests of stakeholders) in the health professions. His story, and success, is encouraging for the very reasons that much of the journey was not intentional but “a series of accidental events”. The importance of curiosity and continued evolution (and the usefulness of mistakes), questioning assumptions, working across generations and learning together, and being strategic and purposeful in qualification and career decisions (with education being a great place to be!) are some of the takeaways. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/

In episode two we chat to Dr Danelle Hess from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. While a physiotherapist by training, Dr Danelle Hess now identifies as an educator as she finds herself in an academic role. She briefly shares her unplanned journey into Health Professions Education and provides great advice for those new to the field or considering a move into it. These include finding what you enjoy, but also being strategic in aligning it to your everyday work, along with the importance of mentorship, joining networks, building community, and paying it forward. You can connect with Danelle on LinkedIn at Danelle Hess and on Twitter/X @danelle_83.

This is the first episode of “Conversations in Med Ed”. Podcast host, Dr Danica (’Nici’) Sims, plays the role of the guest, as her colleague, Dr Liam Guilfoyle, asks her, “Why start a podcast?” Danica shares her desire for creating a virtual community of practice that can connect and welcome in diverse stakeholders, to enable a sense of belonging. She briefly shares her unexpected journey into the field, triggered by her contextual challenges and care for people, and how she wants to hear stories from others in the field – about the people behind the research. You can connect with Danica on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danica-nici-sims-smuts-36bb19105/ and view her research on ORCID: https://orcid.org/my-orcid?orcid=0000-0003-4973-0699.