School of Medical Sciences Education Development and MBBS

REPORT FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD TO SENATE

26 NOVEMBER 2013

School of Medical Sciences Education Development and MBBS:

Plans for future relationships and structures: Executive Summary

Despite the fact that Newcastle University runs a highly successful and very high value MBBS degree programme, there is no School of Medicine. Responsibility for the delivery of the course is split between the MBBS office which is linked to the central faculty office in FMS, and the School of Medical Sciences Education Development (SMSED), established when the Faculty was restructured. SMSED is responsible for much of the course delivery in the early stages of MBBS but also houses various other development functions including Learning Technologies in Medical Sciences (LTMS).

The current arrangements have worked reasonably well for 5 years. However, such dual arrangements may also carry risks, and the current arrangements are undoubtedly complex. The arguments for simplifying the structures and arrangements include:

A lack of clarity about accountability and decision making. When all is going smoothly this is not a problem, but if problems arise it may be a very real concern and a risk.
Strategic planning for MBBS is important. With the course administration straddling two organisations there is a risk that such planning may be less effective and may be stifled by the lack of clarity.
There is a lack of clear identity externally; those external to the Faculty (including central University) sometimes find it difficult to understand the structures and responsibilities.
Such arrangements are likely to lead to inefficiencies and duplication of effort.
Decisions about the allocation of resources across all of the educational functions of the Faculty (including research and development in education) are more difficult to make if, in some cases, all of the resources are managed by one school.

To address these concerns, FMS is keen to clarify the structures.

The proposal is that the delivery functions of SMSED and the MBBS office are combined under the umbrella of a single School of Medical Education, the prime responsibility of which will be the safe delivery of the MBBS. In addition the School will deliver the MClinEd course which is essential for maintaining an appropriately skilled workforce of clinical teachers. The academic teams to deliver MBBS are already in place, but the new School would be run by an executive, chaired by a Head of School who would take responsibility for delivery of this large and complex programme. The administration team will need some rearrangement to ensure clarity of roles and this work is currently being addressed.

The replacement of a SMSED with a new School of Medical Education to deliver MBBS will mean that some of the other functions of SMSED need to be addressed, specifically:

LTMS is critical to the effective running of all of the undergraduate programmes in FMS and is highly valued. The proposal is that this element of work becomes a faculty wide function with strategic direction from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Line management of this unit will similarly be with the Dean of Undergraduate Studies whilst the objectives of the review are successfully embedded. After this time, the intention would be for the line management to transfer to NUIT.
If the degree programmes in FMS are to continue to be attractive globally, they need to continue to develop and to adopt educational practices that are effective in clinical and non-clinical settings.Research into education has lacked strategic focus in medical sciences in recent years but is seen as essential, to address this we propose to create a cross-school Pedagogic Research Centre as a virtual home for researchers with an interest and capability ineducation research that is of direct importance and relevance to our programmes. It will be important to ensure that any grouping is aligned to/collaborating with any other appropriate University wide groupings.

Senate is asked to approve the establishment of a School of Medical Education. Once approved, more detailed proposals will be developed, in line with the University Reorganisation Procedure.Timeline for implementation is August 2014.

Professor Chris Day

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Medical Sciences)

On behalf of Executive Board

14 November 2013