Conversations in Med Ed

Dr Kaushila Thilakasiri discusses coloniality in simulation-based medical education and designing simulation that is authentic, contextually relevant, and responsive to local needs. In episode fifteen I am joined by Dr Kaushila Thilakasiri, an emergency physician, simulation educator, and Lead Clinician for the National Simulation Centre in Sri Lanka. Drawing on her recent paper on coloniality in simulation-based medical education, Kaushila reflects on her journey into simulation, from her first exposure as a medical student in the United Kingdom to her current work leading simulation initiatives in Sri Lanka. We explore the concept of coloniality and discuss how educational theories, simulation practices, and assumptions about “best practice” are often transferred across contexts without sufficient consideration of local cultures, healthcare systems, and learning needs. 

Our conversation moves beyond critique to consider practical ways educators can design more authentic and contextually relevant learning experiences. Kaushila shares examples from her own practice, including the use of local languages during simulation and debriefing, adapting scenarios to reflect real clinical environments, and challenging assumptions about what high-quality simulation should look like. This episode is an invitation to critically reflect on our own educational practices and to consider how simulation can be adapted, not simply adopted, to better serve learners, patients, and communities. Whether you are involved in simulation, curriculum design, faculty development, or health professions education more broadly, this discussion offers valuable insights into context, authenticity, and the future of medical education. 

You can read Kaushila’s paper, “Coloniality in simulation-based medical education” published in The Clinical Teacher, here: https://asmepublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tct.70459

Following the completion of her DPhil at Oxford, Dr Nabeela Kajee discusses doctoral journeys, portfolio careers, and how clinicians and researchers can create meaningful impact across multiple professional spaces. In episode fourteen we welcome back Dr Nabeela Kajee following the completion of her DPhil at the University of Oxford. Reflecting on the challenges, rewards and personal transformation that accompany doctoral study, Nabeela shares insights into navigating the often-overlooked post-PhD period, from publishing and career planning to finding purpose beyond the thesis. 

This conversation explores the realities of building a blended career across research, healthcare, education, leadership and consulting. Nabeela discusses how evidence-based practice can be translated into meaningful organisational and community impact, why networking and preparation are equally important, and how researchers can reimagine their careers beyond traditional academic pathways. 

Along the way, she offers practical advice for current and prospective doctoral students on choosing a research topic, securing funding, finding the right supervisors, and making the most of the privilege and opportunity that doctoral study provides. 

Listen to Nabeela’s first podcast episode, where she shares her DPhil research on empathy: https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/chatting-nabeela-kajee-complexity-empathy-and-how-it-can-be-cultivated-health-professionals-and

Drs Natashia Muna and Taahira Goolam -Hoosen speak about the Papers with Purpose programme on writing as a social practice rather than just a technical skill, developing scholarly identity, research culture and community. In episode fourteen I am joined by Drs Natashia Muna and Taahira Goolam-Hoosen from the University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Health Sciences Writing Lab. We partnered on the Papers with Purpose: Writing Workshops for Research Impact with early career Health Professions Education scholars in Southern Africa. 

Natashia and Taahira begin by sharing their journeys into academic research writing, before discussing the award-winning Papers with Purpose writing and mentoring programme. Together they explore the challenges researchers face when transitioning into new disciplines, the hidden rules of academic writing, and why publication support requires far more than teaching technical skills. The conversation considers writing as a social practice, the importance of scholarly identity and authorial voice, and how Communities of Practice can help researchers navigate the often-isolating realities of academic life. 

The episode also reflects on equity in global knowledge production, barriers faced by African researchers, and the role universities can play in creating supportive research cultures. Through stories from the programme, the discussion highlights how mentorship, protected writing time, peer support, and community building can create meaningful opportunities for researchers to grow, publish, and thrive. 

Whether you are an early-career researcher, supervisor, educator, or academic leader, this episode offers insights into writing, belonging, and the power of investing in people as well as publications. 

For more information see: 

The University of Oxford, Department of Education Papers with Purpose webpage: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/project/papers-with-purpose-writing-workshops-for-research-impact-with-early-career-health-professions-education-scholars-in-southern-africa/  

The University of Cape Town, Department of Health Sciences Education webpage: https://health.uct.ac.za/fhs-writing-lab/papers-with-purpose  

The UCT, Faculty of Health Sciences Writing Lab: https://health.uct.ac.za/fhs-writing-lab  

The British Academy International Writing Workshop scheme: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/projects/papers-with-purpose-writing-workshops-for-research-impact-with-early-career-health-professions-education-scholars-in-southern-africa/

Vuyo, an AfOx fellow at the University of Oxford and academic literacies lecturer at CPUT in South Africa, reflects on digital literacies and transforming South African Higher Education. This episode of ‘Conversations in Med Ed’ is a departure from the usual Health Professions Education conversations to look at Higher Education more broadly. In episode thirteen we chat with Dr Vuyokazi Mntuyedwa, a current AfOx fellow (in the African Oxford initiative – working with Dr Danica Sims) and academic literacies lecturer from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa. Vuyo briefly shares her journey from a first-generation student to university lecturer before diving deeper into her AfOx research on digital literacies of first-year students transitioning from high school to university. She ends by reflecting on 16 June, Youth Day in South Africa, calling on students to be proactive in seeking educational opportunities and working with universities to transform Higher Education. Burning buildings mentality culture when there is a disagreement between the students and the management must end. If you would like to connect with Dr Mntuyedwa, you can reach out to her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-vuyo-mntuyedwa-phd-157477b8/) or email her at: [email protected].

Avita Rath, speaks of feeling like an imposter as a dentist in Health Professions Education and the invisible work of emotional labour. In episode twelve we chat with Dr Avita Rath, a periodontic dentist by training from India, currently working in Malaysia. Avita reflects on her inherent love for education, and her informal teaching experiences as an undergraduate and postgraduate student, before undertaking a formal qualification in Medical Education. She continues to share her experiences of alienation in the field, feeling like an imposter as a dentist in the hierarchical field of Health Professions Education – from her student days to her professional experiences. This is followed by discussing her latest publication on ‘emotional labour’. Avita shares the history of the term and background research, before diving deeper into this gendered and cultural invisible labour. She ends by recommending that we need to talk about our emotions and normalise the idea of emotional labour, as a way to shift current culture and practice – in opposition to checklist approaches. Avita is open and honest in sharing her personal experiences throughout, which is likely to resonate with many listeners (as it did with me!). If interested in delving into Avita’s work, her Google scholar profile can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=N15xbxUAAAAJ&hl=en, her Medical Education “When I say... emotional labour” publication here: https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.15699 and if you would like to contact Dr Rath, you can email her at: [email protected] or [email protected]. You can follow her on X/Twitter: @drravrgreen.

Ghaith Alfakhry, a dentist by background shares his journey into medical education his passion for advocating for change in Syria. In episode eleven we chat with Dr Ghaith Alfakhry, a dentist turned educationalist, from Syria. He shares his journey into medical education as a dentistry student, where teaching English as a second language sparked his interest in teaching and learning. This was followed by his first educational research project, looking at why medicine is taught in Arabic in Syria, when other Middle Eastern countries teach it in English. As an early career researcher, Ghaith has published numerous research papers (which can be found here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U2Q3iTIAAAAJ&hl=en) on the learning environment in Syria and assessment – all sparked by his own educational experiences. His passion, self-determination and resilience come through clearly, along with a growth mindset, viewing the peer review process as an iterative learning journey – welcoming reviewing feedback. Ghaith then goes on to speak about AMES – the Association for Medical Education in Syria (see AMES’ YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@AMES-AssociationforMedicalEduc where I joined Ghaith for a MedEd debate on ‘assessment destroying learning’) – a non-profit, non-governmental organisation he has founded and runs, detailing the immense challenges to health professions education in Syria, along with his vision for transforming it. He ends with a call to those thinking of medical education to take the leap – it is a rewarding career. If interested in contacting Dr Alfakhry, please email him at: [email protected].

Louise Allen, a dietician by background and currently a post-doctoral researcher in Medical Education, shares her personal experiences and research on social learning journeys and effective CPD. In episode ten we chat with Dr Louise Allen, a post-doctoral researcher in Medical Education at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a consultant for continuous professional development (CPD). Louise shares her journey from practitioner to PhD at Monash University in CPD and its impacts – recommending finding a research project you are interested in and making sure you find the right supervisor. She mentions needing to get to grips with educational theory and its language. Louise was drawn to CPD based on her own experiences formal (and informal, apprenticeship and self-regulated style) learning during her doctoral and of the (often) ineffectiveness of CPD offerings required of health professionals – wondering why that might be and how it can be improved. This includes critiquing current evaluation models, such as recognising the limitations current approaches (like Kirkpatrick’s model) that do not explain the ‘how’ and ‘why’ certain interventions actually work! In terms of understanding the ‘whole story’ Louise also shared her Fulbright research, a narrative study on physicians’ CPD learning journeys, and the many challenges of CPD, the importance of informal learning opportunities (and how they should count towards CPD), and social learning (especially in a world of online education). She ends by encouraging learners to not be put off by new language of educational research, developing research projects that actually interest others and have real world impact, putting the ‘quality’ (rigour) back in qualitative research and being paradigmatically coherent, and, lastly, finding a good mentor.

You can read Louise’s publications here (https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1039018-louise-allen). The other papers she recommended are “How to discuss transferability of qualitative research in health professions education” by Stalmeijer et al. (2024) in The Clinical Teacher and “Shedding the cobra effect: problematising thematic emergence, triangulation, saturation and member checking” by Varpio et al. (2017) in Medical Education.

Chatting with Nabeela Kajee on the complexity of empathy, and how it can be cultivated in health professionals and trainees In episode nine we chat with Dr Nabeela Kajee, a medical doctor and currently a Rhodes Scholar and doctoral student in Psychiatry at the University of Oxford. She shares her journey into medical educational research, prompted by a curiosity for evidence-based education and encouraged through mentorship, before diving into more detail on her doctoral research. Her intersectional research looks at mindfulness, communication and empathy – with empathy as the focus of this conversation. In the increasingly challenging context of healthcare (post-COVID-19, the dehumanised digital world, resource limitations, worsening mental health and growing burnout), the necessity for empathy, as a (re)humanising orientation, is emphasised. How empathy is defined (more than just cognitively based but affective and embodied too), and how it can be cultivated, through exploring the concept of an “empathy tank”, are discussed. While empathy is complex and requires nuance, several practical recommendations for sustainably developing, protecting, replenishing and practicing it across the trajectory of a health professionals training and career are shared.

Aditi, an OBGYN registrar reflects on her doctoral journey sharing the importance of joy in research, good supervisory relationships, having a thick skin and building a CV that tells a story In episode eight we chat with Dr Aditi Siddharth, a senior obstetrics and gynaecology specialist training in Oxford, about her (not-straight-forward) doctoral journey exploring surgical training using simulation. She reflects on how she meandered into educational research through an opportunity to effectively organise education in the NHS, given freedom to enhance shared learning in a multi-disciplinary team, before enrolling in a master’s programme in surgical science and practice which led into a DPhil. While COVID-19 may have raised concerns around the need to improve surgical skill training, Aditi found that it had been an ongoing challenge – perhaps worsened by failure to make full use of available simulation training. Aditi recommends using simulation alongside traditional training in surgery, while drawing on Kopta’s theory of learning technical skills for her intervention studies. She encourages those thinking about branching into educational work or formal study to first find what they are truly interested in and what brings them joy, before diving into a long-term commitment. The importance of finding a good supervisor and having a support system around you are emphasised, along with being open to learn, understanding the research projects evolve over time and the necessity of having a thick skin. She also recommends reflecting on what story your CV tells about who you are. You can connect with Aditi at: [email protected]

Geoff shares his move from internal medicine to education and faculty development, reflecting on the broader culture and priorities of medicine and the need to emphasise education. In episode seven we chat with Dr Geoff Stetson, an internal medicine clinician, Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education and Director of Clinical Faculty Development at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) College of Medicine. He starts at the beginning by reflecting on his educational influences from childhood, through to ‘catching the teaching bug’ as a teenager, up to positive and negative experiences as a medical student and resident. Geoff shares that education must be valued and prioritised, which comes back to challenging the broader culture of medicine and education, and how education should be emphasised as a high-stakes practice. Being a good teacher should not be voluntary – but fundamental! Regarding his supervision and faculty development work, he provides practical tips for effective feedback conversations that are agentic, non-hierarchical, participatory, student-centred and encouraging. MedEdMentor, an AI-powered website co-created by Geoff, as another educational support, is discussed, rooted in his own educational learning experiences on the complexity of social sciences scholarship and likely to resonate with many listeners. Excitingly, as MedEdMentor celebrates its first year, with 1800 subscribers from 100 countries, Geoff issues an invitation to collaborate, using this website as a support for the amplification of marginalised scholarship from the global South. You can connect with Geoff on LinkedIn, see his research at his Google scholar profile and visit MedEdMentor.