A new prescription for medicine

Cardiff medical students are set to work more closely with other healthcare students as part of a modern multiprofessional team so patients receive the safest possible care, according to the University's new Senior Lecturer in Interprofessional Medical Education.

Pamela Bradley joins the University's Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy to develop new educational opportunities designed to teach students how to work in teams to improve patient safety, reduce prescribing errors, practise clinical skills and develop expert reasoning.

Pamela, who joins the University after previous teaching roles at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth and at the University of Liverpool, says she will be drawing on her early career experience as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse to improve interprofessional learning.

"I realised very early on that to deliver holistic care to a patient with diabetes required excellent communication and collaboration with a huge number of medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals," said Pamela Bradley.

"I firmly believe that getting students to learn together as early as possible is the key to further improvement of patient care here in Wales," she added.

Pam has been involved in the teaching of clinical and communication skills to medical students for over 15 years.

With a degree in nursing and a Master's degree in medical education, Pam was awarded a Teaching and Learning Fellowship Award from the University of Plymouth in 2005, and in 2009 received First Prize in Rewarding excellence in learning and teaching for "Evaluation of Clinical Skills Teaching and Learning" from the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine.

In 2010 she was admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators.

Professor John Bligh, Dean of Medical Education, School of Medicine said: "We are committed at Cardiff to graduating doctors who can combine their knowledge of the most up to date science with excellent clinical skills to improve patient safety in the NHS.

"Virtually all clinical care in the NHS is delivered by multiprofessional teams so it is vital that medical students learn about how to work effectively in teams from an early stage."

Part of Pam Bradley's responsibilities is to work closely with colleagues in the School of Pharmacy. The Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is one of the leading pharmacy schools in the UK and this partnership with the School of Medicine aims to develop new ways of helping medical students and pharmacy students to learn not only the science that lies behind drug use but also how to prescribe safely in the future.

Professor Gary Baxter, Head of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences added: "Pam's appointment provides a unique and exciting opportunity for pharmacy students at Cardiff to learn together with medical students. Historically, their education has always been separate. Pam's appointment will foster an interprofessional learning opportunity for Cardiff undergraduates which will ultimately benefit patient care."