SEED award

I have had the pleasure of doing the Near Peer Teaching elective during my final year of medical school, during which I have spent 6 weeks facilitating undergraduate medical teaching to third year students in-person and online. 

Our teaching groups ranged in size from 2-4, creating an open environment where students were able to share their thoughts. It also provided ample opportunity for one-to-one teaching scenarios. A learning needs assessment conducted at the start of the elective identified gaps in knowledge and teaching, which we used to form a timetable to suit students’ needs. 

During the 6 weeks, we received central teaching ourselves from GP educators, which gave us insights into teaching and feedback methods. We were then able to incorporate the techniques we learnt centrally when teaching our students, which was a priceless experience. We also had opportunities to co-create mock OSCE stations, and template OSCE station guides which students are now able to access centrally. To top it all off, we had the privilege of presenting our experiences as near peer tutors at an international teaching conference. 

Our students have expressed how this elective was a “judgement-free learning experience” and how it has “improved confidence”. We hope it is the start of something larger, where future finalists are also given the chance to help develop their third-year peers.

I completed two placements within medical education at Barts and the London, with aims of developing teaching skills and co-creating elements of modules run across pre-clinical and clinical years. I worked alongside faculty staff to contribute towards core components of the medical school curriculum such as the General Practice Community Diagnosis (GPCD) module, recommending changes that included inductions for clinical placements. 

I delivered a wide range of teaching to near peer students in lower years in the form of workshops and tutorials and additionally worked in the context of co-creation via writing exam questions for summative papers. Other outcomes included providing a student perspective in challenges and ideas around virtual placements and remote consulting at a national medical education meeting to educators across multiple colleges.