Programmes 1-3 – Analysis in public health and primary care/Assessment and interventions in clinical teaching – Based at UoS
Reference: 2425/UOS/01
Reference: 2425/UOS/02
Reference: 2425/UOS/03
| Type of programme: The aim is to introduce Foundation doctors to academic medicine, in order to encourage individuals to undertake research training and consider a clinical academic career. | |
| Employing trust: Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Academic placement based at: University of Surrey/University of Oxford and Royal Surrey County Hospital | |
| About us Our department brings together complementary sections dedicated to academic excellence in education and the delivery of clinical research in health and disease. We support the University’s Lifelong Health Strategic Research Theme, and our School mission of ‘Improving human and animal health through world-leading discovery and translational research and teaching in biosciences and medicine’. Our expertise Clinical trials and Healthcare evaluation We support the design and delivery of (multi-centre) clinical trials, and other well-designed studies through our Clinical Trials Unit and Clinical Research Facility which provides a centre for detailed investigation of interventions on human participants. Further expertise in study design is provided by Research Design Service South East (Surrey Hub), hosted within the Department, and the delivery of health service and cost effectiveness evaluation though our Health Economics section. Sleep and chronobiology We have world-leading researchers, research infrastructure and technical capability to conduct sleep and circadian rhythm research in multi-purpose sleep labs or in the field. Clinical Medicine Our clinical academics support research in oncology, immunology, diabetes, cardiovascular medicine, critical care and other areas. We are home to the Surrey Cancer Research Institute (SCRI) and have advanced expertise in diabetes, including a Real-World Evidence centre. Primary care and clinical informatics We support research using computerised medical records (CMR) for surveillance, quality improvement and research. We are a data and analytics hub for the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Research and Surveillance Centre (RSC) with studies undertaken with Professor de Lusignan’s group at Nuffield Department of Primary Care, University of Oxford. Our section of Statistical Multi-Omics brings advanced modelling of omics data including the microbiome with direct application to further understanding diabetes and cancer comorbidity. | |
| Structure of project/what is expected Projects at Surrey are currently focused on oncology outcomes and factors related to ageing. A new research stream has recently commenced examining stress and preparedness for practice in clinical students. Projects at Oxford are undertaken remotely with supervision and expertise from the ORCHID research group and have recently focussed on a wide range of subject matters including long COVID, diabetes, nephrology, ophthalmology and pulmonary disease. The academic FY2 doctor should select their project during their FY1 year and this should be finalised at least 6 months ahead of the start of their 4-month placement to allow the necessary permissions for data usage and “hit the ground running”. We have the expectation that the project will be presented at national or international level and written up as one or more peer-reviewed papers in the following months. Trainees are expected to attend courses integral to the placement. All trainees have an educational supervisor, research supervisor and a clinical supervisor during the academic attachment. They will develop skills in working within the wider research team and should acquire expertise in project design, data acquisition, analysis and write-up. In addition to work in the academic unit and FY2 teaching, the academic FY2 also has the opportunity to undertake one clinical day (two sessions) per week spent within the department of their choice at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, working in a supernumerary capacity and there is a small out of hours contribution to the medical on-call rota. Each trainee will have an educational supervisor for the whole year (Prof Piers Gatenby, Prof David Russell Jones, Dr Diarra Greene) and a research supervisor: Prof Piers Gatenby (Consultant Surgeon, RSCH), Dr Agnieszka Lemanska (Lecturer in Integrated Care, School of health Sciences, University of Surrey), Prof Christian Heiss (Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Surrey), Prof Simon Skene (Head of Department, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Surrey) or Prof Simon de Lusignan (Professor of Primary Care and Clinical Informatics, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford). Each FY2 will also have a clinical supervisor who is responsible for their clinical supervision during their academic four months. | |
| Clinical commitments during academic placement All trainees will have the opportunity to spend one day a week in a clinical setting of their choice, at the Royal Surrey or in primary care. Previous popular opportunities have included Anesthetics, accident and emergency, ITU, Acute Medicine and GP. | |
| Projects 1. COVID vaccine side effects 2. Long COVID 3. Flu surveillance and vaccination 4. Pancreatic and prostate cancer ontology development and phenotyping 5. Barrett’s oesophagus and clinical HPB outcomes 6. Acute stress assessment and measurement in undergraduate medical students and newly qualified foundation doctors 7. Assessment of teaching needs in final year medical students Factors to mitigate stress and improve performance in final year medical students 8. Effectiveness of different teaching environments and techniques in the medical school curriculum. |