In July, Kate and I had the pleasure of attending the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) annual scholarship meeting, where we were honoured to present two talks.
Our first talk was based on work we did as student interns on a project led by Kathrine Gibson Smith at the Centre of Healthcare Education Research and Innovation (CHERI). The project focused on developing strategies to support widening access (WA) medical students throughout the curriculum. This group of students, often from underrepresented backgrounds, face particular challenges, and there’s a clear need for more research on how best to support them. We were thrilled to contribute to this important area and share our findings with an engaged audience.
In our second presentation, we delved into the concept of medical school apprenticeships, which generated significant discussion. This innovative education model merges traditional academic learning with structured work experiences, offering students a wage and eliminating course fees. The audience was highly engaged, focusing on potential funding challenges and the key differences between this approach and conventional medical education programs. The debate highlighted both the enthusiasm for the model and the complexities of implementing it.
Attending ASME and presenting our work was a fantastic opportunity to engage with current debates in medical education. We’re proud to have contributed to these conversations and look forward to seeing how these ideas continue to evolve.
