Key consultants
Professor Rufus Clarke
Professor Clarke trained in medicine in Cambridge and London, and has been, successively, a physiologist, an anatomist, a medical educator, and a health service planner.
He has a long track record in medical education in Australia, starting as the Chair of the Committee that designed and implemented the problem-based medical education program in the then new Medical School in Newcastle NSW in 1976. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Office of Teaching and Learning in Medicine at Sydney Medical School.
His particular interest is in assessment of competence and performance, at both pre-graduate and post-graduate levels, and in improving the quality and performance of assessment instruments.
In 2004 Professor Clarke developed an instrument specially developed for reviewing reliability and validity of examinations (CaSERVEx - Criteria and Standards for Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of Examinations). Recent consultancies using this tool have included work for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists, and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.
Dr Tim Shaw
Dr Tim Shaw is an Associate Professor of Health Workforce Education and Director of Program Development in the Centre for Innovation in Professional Health Education and Research (CIPHER) at the University of Sydney. He specialises in the development, management and evaluation of large innovative health-based educational projects. He holds a PhD in biomedical sciences.
Recent projects that have been managed by CIPHE include the review of Cancer Care CPD for the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, development of the National Patient Safety Education Framework for the Australian Council for Quality in Health Care, the development of Basic and Advanced Surgical Training online for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Pharmacotherapy Accreditation training for NSW Health, Online Medication Management Review Training for the Pharmacy Guild and Junior Medical Officers online modules in appropriate use of blood products for the Northern Centre for Health Improvement.
Mr Stewart Barnet
Stewart Barnet is the Manager of Educational Design for the Centre for Innovation in Professional Health Education and Research (CIPHER) at Sydney Medical School. His background as a professional instructional designer includes over 20 years experience spanning school, technical and university education sectors. Over the last eight years he has been responsible for the educational specification and ongoing maintenance of the web-based design used by the Sydney Medical Program. He acts as instructional design consultant for commercial on-line projects and has overseen major curriculum development projects involving organisational and culture change undertaken on behalf of CIPHER clients, including those involved in the field of patient safety.
Associate Professor Merrilyn Walton
Associate Professor Walton chairs the Personal and Professional Development Theme in the Sydney Medical Program and teaches medical students and clinicians about ethical practice, quality and safety.
Her particular interests include
- Educating health care workers about ethical practice and patient safety,
- Enhancing the training environment for medical students and doctors,
- Advocating for patients to be fully engaged in health care at every level.
Merrilyn was the founding Commissioner for the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (1993-2000) In addition to the many Government Inquiries she has convened she has numerous publications in health, medical and law journals involving issues relating to regulation, ethical practice, standards of care, and patient safety.
She is the author of 2 books and a third book Ethics and Safety in Health Care with co authors Professors Bill Runciman and Alan Merry will be published by Ashgate Publishers in 2006.
She is a member/director on many committees and boards including the NSW Institute for Medical Education and Training, Australian Medical Workforce Advisory Committee, Clinical Ethics Committee, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) Operations Review Committee, The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Medical School Member of the NSW Clinical Practice Improvement Program.
Associate Professor Jill Thistlethwaite
Dr Jill Thistlethwaite is a medical educator and general practitioner. She trained in the United Kingdom and received her PhD in medical education from the University of Maastricht. Her interests are consultation/communication skills training and assessment, shared decision making, professionalism, portfolio-based assessment and interprofessional learning. She still practises as a GP for 2 sessions a week.
Dr Thistlethwaite chairs the Prevocational Education Sub-Committee of the NSC Education Committee of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She is on the board of InterEd, an international organization for promoting and evaluating interprofessional education. She is associate editor of the Journal of Interprofessional Care and on the editorial advisory board of the Clinical Teacher and Work Based Learning in Primary Care.
She has published in a variety of education and clinical journals and is co-author of three books to be published in 2006: on consultation skills (for the Royal College of General Practitioners in the UK), professionalism and working with simulated patients.