Pharmacology 2018 - Education Day

The Society held the most well-attended conference to date with Pharmacology 2018, and arguably the most exciting. A range of national and international delegates gathered in central London to share fascinating new advances across the entire pharmacology discipline.

You may know that the Society is invested in fostering future generations of pharmacologists. A key initiative is our support of educational and early career development. We embodied these values by organising and running two popular and interactive sessions: The Careers bootcamp and the Innovations in Pharmacology Education workshop.

Bootcamp - Careers

The day kicked off early in the morning with the Careers bootcamp, led by Dr Lisa Wallace and Dr Steve Tucker (Chair and Deputy Chair of the Education and Training Committee, respectively).

The Society invited seven pharmacologists to speak about their career pathways. The speaker panel represented a variety of backgrounds, with each speaker offering a unique perspective.

1. Aidan Seeley
2. Aisah Aubdool
3. Rob Hill
4. Fiona Russell
5. Anna Stewart
6. Elliot Lilley
7. Mark Christie

Despite the early start, this was a busy and lively session, fuelled by lots of coffee and pastries. Speakers shared their personal challenges and achievements within their careers so far. With five minutes to summarise their journeys so far, from academic background to current positions, each speaker delivered succinct and thought-provoking accounts of their experiences.

Oftentimes, the talks touched on personal factors, such as how health issues and family commitments affected careers, and how these were overcome or used to inform choices. The talks were informative, honest and touching, setting the discussion part of the session up well.

Subsequent question and answer segments allowed attendees to discuss aspects of the presented career journeys with the speakers. This led to some interesting and insightful dialogue around the range of career paths available.

The key takeaway was clear: having resilience in the face of hurdles, and a willingness to expand your professional network, are both valuable in progressing your career, regardless of the discipline you are in.

Workshop - Innovations in Pharmacology Education

The annual education workshop followed, which was an interactive session where guests demonstrated innovative approaches to pharmacology education. The room provided an open space for attendees to circulate around the various demonstrations and encouraged informal discussion and practice sharing.

1. Anja Mueller and Rosemary Norton, University of East Anglia, Interactive learning resources via iSpring
2. Leanne Stokes and Rosemary Norton, University of East Anglia, ReceptorCards: an innovative teaching tool for Pharmacology
3. Craig Daly, University of Glasgow, Printing receptors in 3D; a new teaching resource for pharmacologists
4. Jamie Coleman & Sarah Pontefract, University of Birmingham Teaching Workshop: A Human Factors approach to Medication Errors
5. Liz Danner & John Meredith, Understanding Animal Research, Speaking about Animal Research: Schools and public outreach activities
6. Jeroen van Smeden and Robert Rissmann, Centre for Human Drug Research Pharmacology Teaching Resource Centre
7. Clare Guilding, Newcastle University Use of the online quizzing platform ‘PeerWise’ in pharmacology education
8. Aidan Seeley, Swansea University How to Get Students to Connect with Pharmacokinetics.
9. Htet Htet, International Medical University, Malaysia, Management of coronary artery diseases (from the view of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology)
10. Lucy Clunes, St George’s University, Grenada Peer-led Interactive Multiple Choice Question Sessions
11. Steve Tucker, University of Aberdeen, Enhancement of pharmacology teaching through engagement with visual interactive learning approaches
12. Yvonne Dempsie, Glasgow Caledonian University Using animations to facilitate teaching of G-Protein Coupled Receptor signalling: an educational honours project

Over the two hours, the room was buzzing with collaborative conversation and idea exchange, emphasising how enthusiastic the thriving education community in the Society is. There was a great mix of people present, all interested in pharmacology education and all willing to lend each other an ear and some good advice.

In conclusion, Education Day at Pharmacology 2018 was a productive, insightful and enjoyable day. The Society is grateful to everyone involved and would like to thank you for your time and continuous support of important activities such as these.

Looking forward to activities this year, please watch this space as we are planning some exciting things for Pharmacology 2019.

We are also running a new, free networking event for pharmacology educators in May 2019.

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