UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science

Scoil an Leighis agus Eolaíocht an Leighis UCD

Teaching & Learning Strategy Group

Teaching & Learning Strategy Group Photograph

(Left to Right : Dr Suzanne Donnelly, Ms Bridget Coughlan, Dr Jason Last, Mr Paul Harkin, Dr Geoff Chadwick, Dr Louise Rainford)

This Group guides the strategic development of our undergraduate and graduate programmes and provides the forum for assimilating and dispersing educational best practice across the School. Its membership includes Directors of Preclinical Education, Clinical Education, Postgraduate Education, Clinical Skills Training, Diagnostic Imaging, a representative of the Graduate Programmes Committee, the Medicine Curriculum Support Coordinator and the School's Director of Strategic Development :

Dr Jason Last, Head of Teaching & Learning (Chair)

Dr Jason Last is the Head of Teaching & Learning and Director of Preclinical Education in UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science. He has broad oversight of all modules and educational programmes associated with the School and liaises in this realm with the Head of School, Heads of Section and College of Life Sciences.

Dr. Last started in UCD in 1999 as a graduate demonstrator in anatomy, and over the last number of years has progressed from assistant lecturer to senior lecturer in this subject area. He has also held stage and programme leadership roles in the modularisation of the medicine programme, and has led the development of the new Graduate Entry to Medicine programme. These developments and new initiatives have led to significant increases in educational grant income to the School.

Research interests include clinical anatomy, biological imaging and forensic anthropology, the latter of which has led to publications in leading anthropology, forensic and anatomical journals. Dr. Last facilitated the formal agreement between the University of Dundee and UCD to provide for the gradual development of forensic anthropology research and expertise alongside the subject of anatomy within the School.

Within the School, College and University, Dr. Last is a member of many educational committees, programme boards and working groups, and has played a part in the development of several UCD policies. He also sits on the podiatry assessment committee for the HSE and is a member of a working group within the medical Council.

See Dr Jason Last’s Research Profile here [ADD LINK]

Dr Geoff Chadwick, Director, Clinical Skills Centre
Dr Geoffrey A Chadwick MD FRCPI BSc MBA

Lecturer in Clinical Skills Education
- Consultant in General Internal Medicine, St Columcilles Hospital Loughlinstown
- Director, The Clinical Skills Centre, UCD School of Medicine and Medical Sciences UCD Dublin 4.
- Associate Dean of Higher Medical Training RCPI, 6 Kildare Street Dublin 2. Special responsibility for General Professional Training (medical SHOs and registrars)
- Medical Editor, Hospital Doctor of Ireland
- Graduate of Trinity College Dublin MB BCh BAO 1978
- MRCPI 1981
- MD (TCD) 1990
- FRCPI 1997
- MBA (Health Services Management) (NUI) 1999
- Trained in general internal medicine and respiratory medicine in Dublin and Oxford. Special interests in medical education and health services management

Dr Suzanne Donnelly (Director of Clinical Education)

Dr Suzanne Donnelly holds an honours degree in medicine from Trinity College Dublin. She trained in general medicine and rheumatology in Ireland and the UK, and was appointed consultant rheumatologist at St George's Hospital and Medical School, University of London in 2002. Suzanne returned to Ireland in 2005 to a part time position as Consultant Rheumatologist in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, where she works alongside Dr Conor McCarthy, Medical Director of the IRFU and Prof Geraldine McCarthy, UCD’s first clinical academic professor in Dublin’s busiest rheumatology department. Her clinical interests include systemic autoimmune disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. She is a member of the Irish Society for Rheumatology and led the first national undergraduate curriculum project in Ireland in any subject, published as the ISR Undergraduate Curriculum in Rheumatology in 2009, (available on the ISR website). Suzanne is an ISR nominee to the board of Arthritis Ireland, and a board member of the Irish Raynauds and Scleroderma Society, to which she is also medical advisor.

Suzanne has held academic posts in medical education since 1996 including the post of Lecturer in Clinical Medicine in Trinity College Dublin; Clinical Lecturer in Rheumatology in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford and later in St Georges’ Hospital Medical School London.She has also been involved in postgraduate education; as a trainer on the South Thames Rheumatology scheme she also trained GPs with special interest in rheumatology at St George’s

Suzanne joined UCD as Director of Clinical Education in 2008. She led the design and development of clinical integration in stages 1 and 2 GEM and introduced new learning strategies such as problem based learning . She also designed a patient educator programme on behalf of UCD in association with Arthritis Ireland, and the first patients to complete this have taken part in our GEM stage 1&2 clinical teaching. Suzanne has contributed to a number of undergraduate and specialist textbooks including Medicine at A Glance. Suzanne has presented papers on aspects of medical education to INMED, AMEE and ASME annual scientific meetings and the Ottawa Conference on Health Sciences Assessment. Her educational research interest is in the area of assessment.

Dr Shay Giles, Graduate Taught Programmes Coordinator

Dr Giles joined the UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science academic staff in 1998. As a senior lecturer in the Biomedical Science section, he coordinates and teaches anatomy/embryology in both undergraduate and graduate medicine programmes. Since 2002 he has also coordinated and taught on the Cell Biology/Histology module in the European Biotechnology First Level Degree programme in the University of Perugia Italy.

Dr Giles is a member of the School's and College of Life Science’s Graduate Taught Programme Boards with responsibility for guiding programme coordinators through the modularisation process. More recently he has been appointed as the SMMS representative to the CLS Marketing Liason Committee which is charged with developing a more coherent and efficient approach to the marketing of graduate programmes.

Research interests predominantly lie in the field of Teratology (study of agents that cause birth defects). More specifically he has been investigating the mechanisms underlying the neurological defects associated with fetal alcohol syndrome. Dr Giles has also fostered strong collaborations with the Childrens Research Centre in Crumlin Hospital investigating VACTERL association with Professor Prem Puri and neonatal sub-glottic stenosis with Mr J Russell.

Mr Jonathan McNulty, Head of Radiography Teaching

Head of Teaching & Learning, Diagnostic Imaging Programmes

As the BSc Radiography programme coordinator, Jonathan McNulty has been heavily involved in the modularisation and ongoing restructuring of the degree programme. He has also overseen the introduction and expansion of core and optional Diagnostic Imaging modules into the Medicine and BSc Biomedical Health & Life Sciences programmes. A UCD Radiography graduate, Jonathan is an adept teacher who specialises in trauma and forensic imaging and coordinates several modules on these topics along with a further module on Interventional Radiology. He is currently designing a taught graduate programme in Forensic Imaging and is managing the introduction of e-learning technologies and content into both undergraduate and taught graduate modules. Jonathan is currently vice-chair of the Erasmus Radiography Group, a consortium of 15 academic institutions from across Europe who strive to improve quality, creativity and innovation in Radiography education while facilitating student and staff exchanges, he is also project coordinator for the European Masters Programme in Medical Imaging which is aimed at educating and training Masters students from across Europe. Jonathan’s research interests lie predominantly in the fields of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and the optimisation of diagnostic imaging techniques. He is currently principal investigator of several studies utilising advanced MRI techniques to provide us with a greater understanding of learning and memory processes within the brain.

See Jonathan McNulty’s Research Profile here [ADD LINK]

Dr Dermot Power, DAMC Director of Graduate Education

Dr. Dermot Power is a consultant in geriatric medicine at the Mater Misericordiae and is Medical Director of St Mary’s Hospital Phoneix Park. A graduate of medicine in University College Dublin, his Membership of the RCPI was awarded in 1995 and a MD was awarded by UCD in 2001.

He attained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in 2006. Among his qualifications, he also has a Diploma in Management for Medical Doctors jointly awarded by the RCSI and Irish Management Institute. Dr Power is a member of the British Geriatrics Society, Irish Gerontological Society, Irish Medical Organisation, and Royal Society of Medicine.

Dean of Medicine at the Mater Hospital where he has developed Ireland's first hospital-based structured training programme for non-consultant hospital doctors, Dr Power was appointed UCD Senior Clinical Lecturer in 2008. In September 2008, he was appointed Dublin Academic Medical Centre Director of Postgraduate Education.

In May 2009, Dr Power was appointed to the Board of the Health Service Executive by Minister for Health & Children, Ms Mary Harney.

Dr Louise Rainford, Head of Diagnostic Imaging

Dr Louise Rainford’s background is in the area of medical and diagnostic imaging. She has graduate qualifications in Radionuclide Imaging, management and teaching. Her career in University College Dublin commenced as a lecturer in 1997, and from 2006 she was appointed as the Head of Teaching for the Radiography Programmes and lead the development of Radiography education at undergraduate and graduate level.

In early 2009 she was appointed as the Head of the Radiography Division and Head of the UCD School of Medicine and Medical Science's Biological Imaging Strand. In this role she is the lead for more than 40 scientists including anatomists, computer scientists, biological scientists, rheumatologists, obstetricians, radiographers and neurologists working in collaboration with radiologists, physicists, visual scientists postdoctoral and PhD researchers. In line with the Irish Government and EU priorities, the aim of the Research Strand is to undertake research that focuses upon findings which translate into improved diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of disease.

As the Head of the UCD Biological Imaging Strand her current clinical and academic collaborations involve leading centres or institutions such as the: National Cancer Screening Service in Ireland, American Board of Radiology, University of Arizona, University of Pittsburgh, Boston Medical Centre & Vanderbilt University, Harvard Medical School Houston Medical Centre, University of Cumbria, University of Loughborough and the University of Malta. She has research links with industry, these include: Eizo Nanao, GE, Carestream Health (Kodak), Analogic Corporation, Siemens, Philips HealthCare and EuroMedica.

Her supervision of research projects to date have incorporated a broad range of imaging modalities including X-ray, computerised tomography, fluoroscopic guided interventional procedures, and mammography, and her findings published in several international peer reviewed journals. In addition to on-going individual research projects, Dr Rainford is responsible for the structuring of the dedicated Diagnostic Imaging research facilities within Dublin Academic Medical Centre.

Dr Rainford has presented at many major international imaging meetings including the annual meetings of the Radiological Society of North America, UK Radiological Congress, International Society of Optical Engineering and Medical Imaging Perception Society. Dr Rainford is recognized for her contribution to Radiography Education through innovative curriculum design at undergraduate and graduate level and her innovation approach to projects is currently focusing upon the structure of clinical research pathways for radiographers and computer scientists. She is a distinguished teacher having won 2 medals of excellence for teaching and she has acted as undergraduate, graduate examiner in the United Kingdom.

[LINK TO RMS]

Ms Bridget Coughlan, Medicine Curriculum Support Coordinator

Bridget Coughlan

Bridget Coughlan is a senior administrator within the School of Medicine & Medical Science and joined UCD in 2001. She played a key role in the modularisation of the undergraduate medicine degree and creation of the BSc Biomedical Health & Life Sciences programme which commenced in 2004 and the Graduate Entry to Medicine in 2008.

Bridget provided support in the design and development of the new Graduate Entry to Medicine programme in 2008 and has an oversight of all programme structures within the School. She is also responsible for timetabling, class scheduling and student fitting coordinator for all programmes. Although over 200 students enrol to our undergraduate medicine degree and 50 to the new Graduate Entry Medicine degree each year, the multiple small group teaching, clinical rotations and the modularised curriculum with elective options mean that no two students experience the same undergraduate degree programme. This creates particular logistical challenges and involves careful planning, communication of the necessary changes, including additional offerings, parallel timetabling and close monitoring thereafter, to try and meet these challenges as the Programmes constantly evolves while also ensuring our North American and Asian students mix well with our European students. The increasingly complex arrangements of small group teaching within the School means that Bridget has the painstaking task of developing timetabling options for all possible student choices. The work that is required to meet the timetabling requirements is the first in the University to necessitate mirroring timetables at different stages to ensure that the new entry is a success at every level. Since Bridget's involvement in this area, medicine students have been able to avail of a timely and complete registration to all of the taught elements of their programme. It is this attention to detail which characterises the School's approach to clinical education.

Bridget is also a member of the Teaching & Learning Strategy Group. The group focuses on how best to impart knowledge to the students and forms of assessment considered for all programmes. The group also looks at how graduates are prepared for their future careers.

Mr Paul Harkin, Director of Strategic Development

“Change is a constant theme within the School of Medicine” notes Paul Harkin, Director of Strategic Development. “When I arrived here three years ago, the School was delivering simultaneously three different medicine curricula (subject-based, systems-based and modularised systems-based) within both its 5-year and 6-year programmes). In the intervening period, we have introduced a new graduate entry route to medicine (GEM programme) and have continually advanced integration of the clinical and pre-clinical components of the curricula.” In addition to curricular developments, the School has altered how it teaches with increased use of small group teaching, increasing emphasis on the use of primary and community care settings for clinical education and by proactively engaging active clinician as teachers. These innovations are embedded in the School’s Development Plan ensuring that they remain integral parts of how Medicine is taught at UCD.

After graduating from Dublin City University with a first class honours degree in Analytical Science, Paul joined the UK pharmaceutical company, Glaxo R&D in where he held a number of chromatographic, spectroscopic and chemical analyst posts with the Chemical Development Division and was one of the youngest ever Research Team Leaders. He returned to Ireland to join Elan Pharmaceutical Technology as Analytical Section Leader with responsibility for new product development and validation before becoming Head of Analytical Science within Elan Biotechnology Research based at Trinity College Dublin. After completing a masters degree in business administration at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Paul transferred to Elan corporate offices as Associate Director within the Strategic Business Planning unit.

In 2003, Paul was appointed as Programmes & Operations manager within the Dublin Molecular Medicine Centre, a tri-institutional research collaboration involving UCD, TCD and RCSI. He developed a 5 year strategic plan for the DMMC and was responsible for coordination of activities within the €46 million Programme for Human Genomics project funded under the Higher Education Authority's programme for research in third level institutions.

Paul took up an appointment as Director of Strategic Development within the UCD School of Medicine & Medical Science in May 2006. He developed the School's strategic plan and is responsible for development of organisational structures and policies to support to the School's research and teaching missions. He has responsibility for overseeing staff recruitment and career development and for developing external relationships. He was part of the UCD working team which has established Ireland's first academic medical centre, Dublin Academic Health Care in conjunction with Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and St Vincent's Healthcare Group. He was project manager for the development of the Irish Universities Medical Schools Consortium Graduate Entry Medicine Programme which commenced in UCD in September 2008.