Medical education is a speciality in its own right. Alongside improving teaching skills and a breadth of teaching approaches, there is a fertile foundation of theory, of research, of professional organisations, conferences and journals. This page provides a summary of some of the most relevant resources to explore.
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The Queen Mary Academy is the QMUL unit responsible for supporting excellence in teaching, learning and academic development across the university. For clinical teachers in Malta, it is worth knowing about for two main reasons.
First, the Academy runs the Teaching Recognition Programme, through which you can apply for a nationally recognised Fellowship with Advance HE (the UK's professional body for higher education teaching). Fellowships are available at four levels, from Associate Fellowship for those earlier in their teaching role, through to Senior and Principal Fellowship for those with broader leadership responsibilities. The certificates you receive from our faculty development workshops are mapped to these Fellowship frameworks, so they can contribute directly to an application.
Second, the Academy offers a range of taught programmes, workshops and resources for educators, including credit-bearing courses and a postgraduate programme in academic practice. These are open to clinical teachers and provide a route into formal qualification in medical and health professions education if that is something you are considering.
If you would like to explore what the Academy offers, or discuss whether a Fellowship application might be right for you, speak to the Faculty Development team and we can help point you in the right direction.
The Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE) is the academic home of medical education at Queen Mary University of London. It sits within the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and is one of the leading centres for medical education research and teaching in the UK.
For clinical teachers who want to pursue a formal qualification in medical education, IHSE offers two main routes. The PGCert in Medical Education is a postgraduate certificate available both in person and by distance learning: a good starting point for those who want structured academic engagement with the theory and practice of teaching. The MA in Medical Education is a full master's programme available in the same formats, which attracts educators working in and around clinical contexts who want to deepen their understanding of the educational potential of their working environment. Both programmes have September and January intakes.
For those with a research interest, IHSE also supports PhD and MD(Res) students in medical education research, full or part-time.
These programmes are run by colleagues who are part of the same broader QMUL family as the Malta campus, and the Faculty Development team can help you think through whether any of them might be a good fit for where you want to go next. As a clinical teacher for QMUL, you are already part of this community.
Professional bodies & conferences
AMEE is the largest international organisation for health professions education, with members in over 90 countries. It exists to promote excellence in the education of healthcare professionals across the full continuum from undergraduate through to continuing professional development.
For clinical teachers, the most immediately useful benefit of membership is online access to Medical Teacher, one of the leading journals in the field, which is included in the membership fee. Members also gain access to MedEdWorld, an online community with interest groups, webinars and resources, and to MedEdPublish, an open-access journal where educators can share their work. AMEE runs a major annual conference which attracts medical educators from around the world, and membership brings discounted registration.
If you are interested in medical education as a scholarly field, or simply want to keep up with developments in the literature, AMEE membership is a practical and relatively affordable way to do so.
ASME is the UK's learned society for medical education, established in 1957 and dedicated to advancing scholarship in the field. It brings together clinicians, educators and researchers at all career stages who are interested in understanding and improving how medical education is done.
Membership gives access to two highly regarded journals: Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher, the latter of which is particularly relevant to practising clinical teachers. ASME runs an Annual Scholarship Meeting which is a good entry point into the medical education research community, and offers a range of awards and small grants that are open to non-UK members and to first-time applicants. There are also special interest groups on topics ranging from clinical reasoning to simulation to mindfulness in education.
ASME is worth knowing about if you are thinking about getting more involved in medical education scholarship, attending a conference, or applying for funding to develop a project. It is also listed by HMRC as an approved learned society, meaning membership subscriptions may qualify for income tax relief.
The Academy of Medical Educators is the professional body for medical, dental and veterinary educators in the UK. Its motto is "improving patient care through teaching excellence", and its core function is to set and recognise professional standards for those involved in teaching and training in healthcare.
AoME is particularly relevant to clinical teachers because its Professional Standards framework has been adopted by the GMC as the basis for expectations of all trainers in recognised supervisory roles. In other words, when you apply for a recognised training role or educational post, AoME's standards are likely to be part of the criteria you are assessed against, whether you are a member or not.
Membership and Fellowship of AoME (carrying the post-nominals MAcadMEd and FAcadMEd) are formal recognitions of your expertise and commitment as an educator, broadly analogous in purpose to membership of a Royal College, but specific to your teaching role. Principal Fellowship (PFAcadMEd) recognises senior educational leadership. Applications are assessed against the Professional Standards framework, and the evidence you gather through teaching, faculty development workshops, ART and the BeTER system all contribute to a potential application.
If you are serious about your role as an educator and want that recognised in a portable, nationally understood way, AoME membership is the most direct route.