For this article, the MTF content team decided to conduct an interview on the topic of Technology Enhanced Learning with the head of MBBS, and Deputy Director of the Institute of Health Sciences Education at Queen Mary University of London, Rakesh Patel.
Rakesh qualified in Medicine in 2002 at the University of Leicester and he completed his pre-registration and senior house officer training at the University of Leicester NHS Trust. After obtaining his MRCP (London) in 2005, he started higher specialist training in Nephrology and General Internal Medicine on the East Midlands South Rotation in 2006.
He completed a Masters in Medical Education at the University of Dundee in November 2011 and a professional doctorate (MD) in medical education at the University of Leicester in 2012, before undertaking an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship in Medical Education in 2012-2016. He was appointed Clinical Associate Professor in Medical Education to the University of Nottingham in 2016, where he was Director of the MMedSci in Medical Education and Academic Programme Director for Medical Education.
Rakesh was awarded the ASME New Researcher of the Year in 2011 and the ASME Educator Development Group Award in 2012. He obtained Senior Fellow of Advance HE (formerly Higher Education Academy) in 2017.
Rakesh has also held education related roles in the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME), Academy of Medical Educators (AoME), and currently is a member of the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) Technology-Enhanced Learning Committee. He held external examinerships at the University of Glasgow (Year 3 MBChB) and University of East Anglia (Masters in Clinical Education) and is currently an external examiner at the University of Oxford and Newcastle. He is also a General Medical Council Education Associate and member of the Undergraduate Medicine Accreditation Team.
Clinically, he works at the Royal London Hospital for Barts Health NHS Trust, and prior to that he worked at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust as Honorary Consultant Nephrologist.
We hope you enjoy!
Q: Describe your experiences in TEL (and more widely medical technologies)
A: I have designed a number of virtual patients software, with many of my TEL experiences coming when I undertook a doctorate in medical education research. It was indulgent just exploring, discovering and playing with technology over a period of decade including organising the first ever AMEE Hackathon which you can view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF_YM-quZto.
Q: As the new head of Medicine at QMUL, what were the TEL tools you’ve incorporated since you started, and why did you choose to incorporate them?
A: In my new role I have to think strategically and the three technologies we are pursuing are the LAMS team-based learning software, point of care ultrasound and virtual reality.
Q: You have previously spoken about how TEL can be anything as simple as a piece of paper and a pen, what would you consider to be the most effective TEL tool currently in place in medical schools?
A: This is a tricky one because for me, it’s context specific, so I wouldn’t want to say there is a such a most effective TEL tool without specifying a set of conditions or circumstances in which that teaching or learning activity is taking place – sorry!
Q: What do you believe is the biggest challenge currently faced for educators attempting to implement more uses of TEL?
A: Without a doubt, for me, it’s the faculty and staff development challenge. Over the past decade and more, my observations are that implementation of TEL is dependent on the skills of educators, and their motivation and perceived self-efficacy at doing so.
Q: Where do you think the future of TEL is going to be with so many new innovations to technology as a whole (e.g AI, VR, AR etc.)?
A: Learning from history is often a useful thing to do when attempting to make future predictions in my opinion. Looking back over the past decade and a half, it's clear the vast majority of technologies will come and go, and others may hang around long enough and stand the test of time. However, looking across at the ones you’ve stated above, I would predict that we’ll still be talking about them in the next decade and a half for all sorts of reasons.
Q: What is your advice to students and healthcare professionals looking to get more involved in the world of TEL?
A: The one bit of advice I would give it for individuals to make sure they are a clear understanding about what they are trying to do with the technology rather than just focusing on knowing everything about the technology in and of itself. In an educational context, especially healthcare, there can be a tendency to overlook what matters is actually the retention of knowledge and skills over time. As long the technology helps with that preventing decay in either of those, I’m fine with that.
Thank you for the time Professor Patel, your knowledge on this matter will no doubt be of great value to educators and students interested in technology enhanced learning!
Author - Ali Bashari, MTF Content Creator
Editor - Ramat Abdulkadir, MTF National Technology Director