In this interactive workshop we aim to familiarise participants with ways in which surgical educational research is carried out, especially highlighting how it differs from more familiar biomedical approaches. In doing so we will: - Provide exemplars of educational research carried out by surgeon educators - Discuss challenges and identify opportunities for developing oneself as a researcher in surgical education.

1. Educational Research
Tips, skills, opportunities
April 30, 2014
Rola Ajjawi, University of Dundee
Kirsten Dalrymple, Imperial College London

2. What brings you here this morning?

3. What we hope to address
• Compare & contrast different ways of doing research,
raising awareness of issues particular to educational
research
• Consider skills needed and challenges of doing educational
research
• Highlight examples of educational research done by
surgeons
• Consider opportunities for developing yourself as an
educational researcher

4. Biomedical & Educational Research
• What are the main features of biomedical
research?
• And of educational research?
• Similarities?
• Differences?

5. Case studies…
• Please read the case study and discuss with those
at your table…
– What you think about the:
• Research questions?
• Methods used?
• Explanation?
• Relevance to own context?
• Impact on policy, practice and education
• We’ll share points after…

6. Evaluation of the construct validity of the objective
structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS)
tool for subcuticular suturing tasks- Mark Schaverien (2010)
Example projects
How does the intersection of gendered identities within
narratives of learning experiences influence healthcare
students’ retention and success within healthcare and/or
its speciality? Arun Verma (PhD current)
Developing Self-Regulated Learning in Surgical
Training: Learning from Expert Musicians-
Hannah Winter (2011)
An exploration of reasons for dissatisfaction
amongst newly qualified doctors in surgical
training posts; a phenomenological study-
Stephen Boyce (2012)
Deeper than tips and tricks: An evaluation of
a surgical Training the Trainers course- Tamzin
Cuming (2012)
Surgical Trainees’ Experiences of
Reflection on Practice. Kathryn Thomas
(MMedEd 2014)
Development of a Tool to Measure the Educational
Environment in Surgical Outpatient Clinics. James
Alexander Milburn (MMedEd 2012)

7. Educational research…
• ‘Real world’- ideological/political/value-laden?
• Influence between researcher and research subject?
• Difficulty in generalising/replicating?
• Often addresses the ‘why’ it works (versus ‘does it work’?)
• Methodological rigour comes from additional angles
• Requires (almost) a different language
(Wellington, 2000)

8. “The educational and health care advantages of
mastery learning are unequivocal. However,
educational inertia grounded in Osler’s natural
method of teaching, now known as the
‘apprenticeship model’ of clinical education, is a
key reason why mastery learning is not yet
prominent in medical education.” (McGaghie, 2014)

9. “the most critical act in producing high-quality
research is to ask a good question”
(Shea et al. 2004, p.932)
Good questions must be generalisable, original, of
importance
• Imperative of proof vs imperative of understanding
(Regehr 2010)
The altruistic purpose of research in medical
education is to deepen the knowledge and
understanding of learning and education by studying
phenomena, relations and how and why and what
works for whom (Ringsted et al 2011, p.696)

10. Social
Sciences
Art &
Craft
Science
Becoming a researcher in surgical education
Education
Surgery
Developing new ways of thinking and doing
things…

11. (Riley 2013)

12. What are the
challenges for
surgeons/trainees in
doing educational
research?
http://nicomachus.net/2011/02/sisyphus-gets-a-desk-job/

13. What are the opportunities?
• Filling a 'new' niche
• Joining new communities
• Influencing the education of
(future) surgeons
• Greater satisfaction in own
teaching
• Contributing new knowledge to
the field
• Creative endeavour

15. Tips for developing yourself as an
educational researcher…
• Read medical, surgical and general education literature
• Tap into existing communities e.g. ASME, AMEE, FST, ASPiH
• & existing resources e.g. KeyLIME podcasts, meded podcasts
• Go to meetings (like this one!)
• Get training, particularly in education research methods
• Apprentice with someone who has been successful doing educational
research
• Apply for educational research grant e.g. FST
• Think carefully about the make up of the research team –
interdisciplinarity is very valuable
• Twitter #meded and #ukmeded

16. CUT!
The Practice of Surgery
by David Alderson
PhotobyMattHarrison

17. Contacts
Rola Ajjawi
r.ajjawi@dundee.ac.uk
@r_ajjawi
Kirsten Dalrymple
k.dalrymple@imperial.ac.uk
Link to resources for this workshop: http://blogs.cmdn.dundee.ac.uk/meded-
research/2014/04/surgical-education-research/

18. References
• Regehr, G. (2010). It’s NOT rocket science: rethinking our
metaphors for research in health professions education.
Medical Education, 44(1), 31-39.
• Ringsted, C., Hodges, B., & Scherpbier, A. (2011). ‘The
research compass’: An introduction to research in
medical education: AMEE Guide No. 56. Medical
Teacher, 33(9), 695-709
• Shea JA, Arnold L, Mann KV. A RIME perspective on the
quality and relevance of current and future medical
education research. Academic Medicine
2004;79(10):931-938
• Wellington, J. (2000). Educational Research:
Contemporary Issues and Practical Approaches.
Bloomsbury Publishing, pg. 180