How to Maximise Your Portfolio
Like all applications, being a Clinical Teaching Fellow requires the same core attributes and skills that are valued throughout medicine. These include leadership, teamwork, clinical competence, quality improvement/research, and teaching. Of course, for a Teaching Fellow job, there will be extra emphasis on the teaching part!
My advice would be the same if you were applying for any other specialty – try and get involved in projects/activities/teams where you can develop all of the above skills. An example of leadership could be being on the Doctor’s Mess Committee, which also demonstrates communication and teamwork. However, don’t just limit yourself to medical roles. Many of these skills can also be evidenced by activities outside of work, e.g., captaining a sports team.
Being involved in a quality improvement project is a necessary part of Foundation Training, but if you can put a little extra effort in and take your project to the next stage by presenting it at a local, regional, or even National Conference, then this will also stand out and show you to be a conscientious and hardworking individual. Quality Improvement and research are just as important in Medical Education as in our clinical work, and if you can be involved in a project related to Med Ed, then that will look even better when applying for a Teaching post.
As far as Teaching is concerned, all experience is good experience. However, my advice is to try and focus on one bigger, ongoing project, rather than lots of small ad hoc ones. By this, I mean getting involved in delivering a series of related sessions over a few months (most applications want a minimum of 3 months to score top points). You don’t have to do this by yourself! Find some friends to help you, or just ask to get involved in a teaching programme that is already up and running – this is even easier now through the use of online platforms like Zoom, meaning teaching can be arranged and delivered worldwide from the comfort of your own bedroom!
Making the Most of Your Day Job
Of course, to be able to teach others, you need to be comfortable with what you are teaching yourself. See every day as a learning opportunity to expand and consolidate your own clinical knowledge, so that you will be able to come across as a competent and skilled teacher. Volunteer to step up as a leader where you have a chance to do so – this is a valuable skill for being a doctor, but also when teaching others, and as a junior, there are often fewer opportunities to practise it. And of course, if there are teaching opportunities, take those as well. Even informal chats with medical students at the back of ward rounds to help explain a concept will help you to develop the communication skills that are vitally important for teaching.
Making the Most of Clinical Teaching Fellow Post Placements
You obviously don’t get a whole rotation in ‘teaching’ as a Foundation Doctor, but instead it can be experienced throughout any rotation. My advice is to talk to others in the role of a Teaching Fellow – see what their job looks like and find out what they like and dislike about it. Take the opportunity to try teaching students on the ward and find out if you enjoy this. If you do, take any opportunity you can to practise your teaching skills and bank experiences that you can talk about at the interview, both good and bad.
What About Non-Clinical Teaching Fellow Post Placements?
As above, teaching and education are everywhere in medicine! Keep your eyes and ears open to opportunities, and if you can’t spot anything obvious, don’t hesitate to make a few enquiries…
