Speakers

Judy McKimm, Ph.D.

Director of Strategic Education, Swansea University UK

Speaker's Biography

Judy has held several senior posts in health professions' education, including Professor and Dean of Medical Education at Swansea University; Pro-Dean, Health and Social Care, Unitec Institute of Technology, NZ; Director of Undergraduate Medicine, Imperial College London, and Higher Education Academy Senior Adviser. Judy initially trained as a nurse, then as an adult and further education teacher, with an academic background in social and health sciences, education, and management.

She has worked on over sixty international health workforce, reconstruction and education reform projects for DfID, AusAID, the World Bank and WHO in Central Asia, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Australia and the Pacific; external adviser for almost twenty new medical schools/programmes internationally; developed and run over thirty postgraduate degrees at various organisations in the UK and internationally, including programme director for the MSc Leadership in the Health Professions' at Swansea and the MSc in Medical Education at King Saud University. For the last ten years she has been Director of ASME's and AMEE's international Educational Leadership programmes and works with the Faculty for Medical Leadership & Management, Health Education England and HEIW on new programme development and accreditation, and evaluation and research projects.

She has written over 350 articles and book chapters, published 16 books on medical/health professions' education and leadership, and runs health professions' leadership and education courses and workshops internationally. 

Topic

Applying Lessons Learned from the Pandemic to Medical and Health Professions Education: 

Stories from the Frontline

Abstract

This presentation will share some of the research findings from my own and others' research into UK frontline health workers' experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic. These health professionals (who included doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, optometrists, and occupational therapists) were all undertaking leadership development programmes when the pandemic arrived in the UK, disrupting everyone's lives and leading to thousands of deaths. We were interested in exploring their lived experiences of both clinical services and their education and training. We aimed to learn lessons that we could apply during the crisis to help support them, their services and patients, as well as identify areas to consider for the longer term in terms of education, training and support. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire and depth interviews, and I will describe our findings and highlight key messages that emerged from the research. Then I will explore the implications of our findings on future education and training developments, highlighting some of the areas which need to be considered to ensure the longer-term sustainability of health professions' education and the wellbeing of all those who work in education and healthcare.