UCL Medical School recognised in medical education awards 2021

The award was presented to Professor Ann Griffin, Director of the RDME, on Monday 12 June by Dr Eliot Rees, the chair of the ASME Trainee’s Association (TASME), with the award ceremony taking palace on 24th June 2021.  

Speaking of the award, Professor Ann Griffin said: "It's an honour for the Research Department of Medical Education to be recognised by ASME with this award. As a team we have made a significant commitment to scholarship over the years and have raised the profile of medical education research. UCL has assisted us in our quest to advance an emerging disciple, and we are grateful for their support. Medical education research has a significant potential to impact on the NHS, through understanding education and training in its broadest sense, and we are delighted to have been recognised as taking part of this venture."

Dr Kath Woolf, Associate Professor in Medical Education, UCL said: "We are delighted to have our long-standing commitment to developing the field of medical education research recognised with this national award, and hope that it encourages others to consider medical education research as a rewarding career path."

UCL Medical School’s Research Department of Medical Education, work covers four major areas:  

• Building infrastructure and career support for scholarship  
• Working for equality in medical education;  
• Improving assessment in medical education  
• Supporting the development of a key research resource: the UK Medical Education Database, UKMED. 

Career support 

Since 2015 UCL Medical School has significantly increased the number of research and academic staff in medical education, and supported them in promotion, providing funding for over 30 staff members to undertake Master’s or doctoral-level study in medical education. 

Funding and research  

The School has worked with ASME to help change Department of Health and Social Care (NIHR) policy to increase medical education research funding; returned medical education research to the Research Excellence Framework in 2014 and 2021 and are part of the new national NIHR Clinical Education Incubator. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion 

Working with major national stakeholders, the Medical School is embedding evidence-based ways of improving equality in medical education and training in line with Professor Jane Dacre’s (UCL) Department of Health and Social Care Gender Pay Gap review.  

The team’s work on Differential Attainment has influenced the General Medical Council (GMC), Health Education England, and NHS England to embed equalities metrics within national quality assurance and education policies. It also underpinned the establishment of the UK-wide Medical School Council EDI Alliance, and influenced the BMA’s Racial Harassment Charter. 

Advancing research, education and assessment 

Over 25 years the School has brought together experts and training early career researchers and research students to design, validate, implement and evaluate high-stakes examinations and assessments, from selection into medical school, through undergraduate and postgraduate education and training, to revalidation. This work includes the licensing examination for overseas medical graduates (PLAB) and the tests of competence for the GMC’s fitness to practice procedures. 

The Medical School has played a key role in the creation, implementation and development of the UK Medical Education Database - a major open research resource that has transformed capability for high-quality quantitative medical education research. UCL academics, researchers and doctoral students are using UKMED in funded research, and the School provides training on using UKMED for research. 

Further information

• Professor Ann Griffin academic profile
• Dr Katherine Woolf academic profile
• ASME news: Winners announced: ASME Institutional ‘Commitment to Scholarship’ Awards 2021 
• The UK Medical Education Database