Motivation Questions Flashcards
What do you think will be the most challenging aspects of the training programme? (And how have you prepared for the challenges?
Although the AFP will be an incredible opportunity for me to develop clinically and academically, I am aware of some of the difficulties that I might face. First and foremost I will be expected to complete my competencies in less time than my colleagues. On many occasions I have been the first student in my year to complete my portfolio competencies, which include clinical skills and reflections, similar to that expected of a foundation doctor.
The time management and organisational skills that have allowed me to competently complete these tasks in a short space of time and well within the deadline reassure me that this reduction in clinical time will not pose an issue for me during AFP.
As well as this I know I will have a relatively short period of time of 4 months to complete my dissertation in I know that this will involve a lot of planning terms of study design, ethical approval and research funding. I hope to offset this difficulty by using the first year of my training to prepare as much as is possible for the project by talking to relevant supervisors or completing these tasks so that I am able to start carrying out my project as soon as I enter the 4 month period during FY2.
If I am worried about becoming de-skilled, I can always take up some locum shifts on weekends, as I understand the AFP block doesn’t have any on-calls or out-of-hours work. It can also help top up my pay because there is only a basic pay on the AFP job.
How will the AFP contribute to your career plans?
I am particularly interested in women and children’s health, having enjoyed my Paediatrics & O&G rotations. I am therefore hoping by the time of F1 and F2, I’ll be more sure of which specialty to consider.
One thing I’m more sure of however is having an element of academia incorporated into my career. For example, I am considering applying for an academic clinical fellowship after my foundation programme which I hope will allow me to gain more clinical exposure but also offer further opportunities such as a Masters degree or PhD.
One thing I am positive about however is that the AFP will give me offer protected time to contribute to existing research, allow me to develop my skills and give me a headstart in pursuing my career aspirations.
What are your career aspirations after foundation training at this stage?
I am particularly interested in women and children’s health, having enjoyed my Paediatrics & O&G rotations. I am therefore hoping by the time of F1 and F2, I’ll be more sure of which specialty to consider.
One thing I’m more sure of however is having an element of academia incorporated into my career. For example, I am considering applying for an academic clinical fellowship after my foundation programme which I hope will allow me to gain more clinical exposure but also offer further opportunities such as a Masters degree or PhD.
One thing I am positive about however is that the AFP will give me dedicated time to contribute to existing research, allow me to develop my skills and give me a headstart in pursuing my career aspirations.
What are the qualities of a good teacher?
Teaching is an essential activity of a doctor’s life. I have been taught by doctors, I have some teaching experience with A-Level students and I will be expected to teach as a clinician in formal or informal settings.
- Clinicians must be KNOWLEDGEABLE and have a thorough understanding of their subject. For example, before my mentoring sessions I’d come prepared and reflect on my own personal experiences so my mentees believe I am credible.
- Clinicians must have good COMMUNICATION skills, to translate knowledge into a language the audience understand. I have found it extremely satisfying having to explain to patients on my GP placements the mechanism of how an antidepressant may work and I have received positive feedback on how I have taken the time with them to help them understand.
- Clinicians must be able to generate INTEREST which can only come from their own genuine interest in the topic and engaging students with this.
- Be APPROACHABLE and supportive; a good teacher must be able to be available to answer any questions from their students, both in challenging those who are strong in knowledge and also those who may be struggle. I felt this was challenging as a mentor, as I had to engage to students who all had varying levels of engagement with my mentorship.
Why have you applied for the Academic Foundation Programme?
My interest in the AFP has stemmed from my research experiences before and whilst I currently am a medical student. During my BSc. Biochemistry dissertation, I’d spent 6 months in a laboratory environment investigating the gene knockouts of Drosophila, the fruit-fly, to understand the process of apoptosis-induced proliferation. This was my first experience of biomedical research and it helped me appreciate what the future implications of this research was, because it is likely to underpin how some cancers may behave in patients.
The biomedical research I performed was a great contrast to my internship in clinical research, where I’d spent two consecutive summers at QEHB working within a research team which was investigating the prognostic markers for cancer patients post gastrectomy and esophagectomy. I became fascinated in how my routinely collected data could create calculable scores to be used adjunctively to current staging systems in predicting patient prognosis.
My point is contributing to research and sharing it with the wider community is just as essential as practicing clinical medicine in improving patient care. My other experiences of a QIP at medical school and an SSC, have given me the opportunity to disseminating and sharing my knowledge in the form of presentations which I have a first prize oral and poster presentation. My data collection I performed at QEHB helped in the publication of two co-authored observational studies and the main author presenting her findings at the ASGBI conference. I also enjoy writing and have won a second prize essay competition in palliative care.
I’d therefore like to the AFP in order to challenge myself in having the additional responsibility of leading my own project, something I have very little experience of, whilst also collaborating with colleagues in order to make a positive impact in a field I am passionate about. In turn, I think this would help in my future career aspirations as a clinical academic.
What have you done to show interest in academia?
My interest in the AFP has stemmed from my research experiences before and whilst I currently am a medical student. During my BSc. Biochemistry dissertation, I’d spent 6 months in a laboratory environment investigating the gene knockouts of Drosophila, the fruit-fly, to understand the process of apoptosis-induced proliferation. This was my first experience of biomedical research and it helped me appreciate what the future implications of this research was, because it is likely to underpin how some cancers may behave in patients.
The biomedical research I performed was a great contrast to my internship in clinical research, where I’d spent two consecutive summers at QEHB working within a research team which was investigating the prognostic markers for cancer patients post gastrectomy and esophagectomy. I became fascinated in how my routinely collected data could create calculable scores to be used adjunctively to current staging systems in predicting patient prognosis.
My point is contributing to research and sharing it with the wider community is just as essential as practicing clinical medicine in improving patient care. My other experiences of a QIP at medical school and an SSC, have given me the opportunity to disseminating and sharing my knowledge in the form of presentations which I have a first prize oral and poster presentation. My data collection I performed at QEHB helped in the publication of two co-authored observational studies and the main author presenting her findings at the ASGBI conference. I also enjoy writing and have won a second prize essay competition in palliative care.
I’d therefore like to the AFP in order to challenge myself in having the additional responsibility of leading my own project, something I have very little experience of, whilst also collaborating with colleagues in order to make a positive impact in a field I am passionate about. In turn, I think this would help in my future career aspirations as a clinical academic.
What is your biggest weakness?
My greatest weakness is that I sometimes focus too much on the details of a project and spend too much time analyzing the finer points. I am a very detail oriented and observant person, and this was shown during my Quality Improvement Project where I might have gotten hung up on how the oral presentation may have looked or looked at ways to add new graphics at the expense of time.
I’ve been striving to improve in this area by checking in with myself at regular intervals and giving myself a chance to refocusing on the bigger picture. Speaking to my team members also helped as it can give a good perspective on work. That way I can still ensure quality without getting so caught up in the details that it affects my productivity or the team’s ability to meet the deadline.
Why are you interested in doing this AFP in the West Midlands?
I am particularly interested in the paediatrics or Obstetrics and Gynaecology research-based AFP in the West Midlands as I feel it would be the ideal place to flourish as both a clinician and an academic. Birmingham is renowned for its Women and Children’s Hospitals which provide high quality care to their patients as well as invaluable learning opportunities to develop my clinical skills.
Having volunteered for 6 months at the Queen Elizabeth and 2 years at the Children’s Hospital and through my numerous conversations with clinicians working there who seem well supported, I feel it would be a familiar and ideal place for myself to give back to and contribute to their centres which are at the forefront of research.
I also understand the importance of flexibility with research projects in the AFP and no matter what I focus on, it will be a transferable skill towards any future career. Having been away from the area for university, I feel returning back for this reason alongside caring for my father with dementia would also be an ideal place.
What is your ten year plan?
Use CAMP Structure
Ten years does seem a long way, however by that time I will have completed my foundation training and be in the middle of a run-through training programme, which I anticipate might be Paediatrics or Obstetrics & Gynaecology. I’m passionate about women and children’s health. I’d have hoped worked in both DGHs which has a high turnover of patients and also Tertiary centres which have quite specialised, niche presentations and depending on what I enjoy I’ll have a better idea of where I might want to work - but most likely West Midlands area.
Over the past few years, I have had some experience in research and I hope this can continue with the AFP and even possibly the ACF. I also mentor A-Level students and would love to continue this with teaching and mentoring medical students on the job. This might require me to gain formal qualifications such as a Masters / Diploma.
On a personal level, I quite enjoy travelling and would love to combine this with medicine, possibly spending some time in my ancestral country of Bangladesh where healthcare for women and children can be improved.
What makes you confident that you can meet both clinical and academic competencies of the AFP?
Although the AFP will be an incredible opportunity for me to develop clinically and academically, I am aware of some of the difficulties that I might face. First and foremost I will be expected to complete my competencies in less time than my colleagues. On many occasions I have been the first student in my year to complete my portfolio competencies, which include clinical skills and reflections, similar to that expected of a foundation doctor.
The time management and organisational skills that have allowed me to competently complete these tasks in a short space of time and well within the deadline reassure me that this reduction in clinical time will not pose an issue for me during AFP.
As well as this I know I will have a relatively short period of time of 4 months to complete my dissertation in I know that this will involve a lot of planning terms of study design, ethical approval and research funding. I hope to offset this difficulty by using the first year of my training to prepare as much as is possible for the project by talking to relevant supervisors or completing these tasks so that I am able to start carrying out my project as soon as I enter the 4 month period during FY2.
Why academic medicine?
The main aim of research is to drive medical innovation by contributing to a growing body of evidence on a particular topic, in the hope it will help influence decisions and improve patient care.
My interest in the AFP has stemmed from my research experiences before and whilst I currently am a medical student. During my BSc. Biochemistry dissertation, I’d spent 6 months in a laboratory environment investigating the gene knockouts of Drosophila, the fruit-fly, to understand the process of apoptosis-induced proliferation. This was my first experience of biomedical research and it helped me appreciate what the future implications of this research was, because it is likely to underpin how some cancers may behave in patients.
The biomedical research I performed was a great contrast to my internship in clinical research, where I’d spent two consecutive summers at QEHB working within a research team which was investigating the prognostic markers for cancer patients post gastrectomy and esophagectomy. I became fascinated in how my routinely collected data could create calculable scores to be used adjunctively to current staging systems in predicting patient prognosis.
My point is contributing to research and sharing it with the wider community is just as essential as practicing clinical medicine in improving patient care. My other experiences of a QIP at medical school and an SSC, have given me the opportunity to disseminating and sharing my knowledge in the form of presentations which I have a first prize oral and poster presentation. My data collection I performed at QEHB helped in the publication of two co-authored observational studies and the main author presenting her findings at the ASGBI conference. I also enjoy writing and have won a second prize essay competition in palliative care.
I’d therefore like to the AFP in order to challenge myself in having the additional responsibility of leading my own project, something I have very little experience of, whilst also collaborating with colleagues in order to make a positive impact in a field I am passionate about. In turn, I think this would help in my future career aspirations as a clinical academic
What do you want to achieve in your 4-month academic block?
Offers protected academic time, won’t be distracted, can focus on research with good day-to-day continuity as opposed to a day release AFP.
The AFP will give me the additional responsibility of leading my own project - a responsibility I haven’t had before. It will also give me autonomy to choose a subject I’m most interested in which will give me more ownership over a project I am passionate about. I’m hoping it will build on my current skills of presenting, and may gain some experience in writing manuscripts for publications. But ultimately, it will give me a better insight into future career aspirations as a clinical academic.
What is your main strength?
Discuss my organisation skills
What are the difficulties of balancing academic and clinical work?
As an AFP clinician in the West Midlands, with the set-up of the programme being a discrete block for research means it is protected, this dedicated time focused solely on developing a research project away from the distractions of clinical medicine. This is different from other AFP programmes where they may have a day-release programme instead.
Saying this however, I will still need to do some preparation for academia before I begin the research block in F2. This might involve preparing my research project, discussing things with my supervisor, obtaining ethical, departmental, trust approval and applying for funding / sponsorships. I will also have less clinical time to complete my assessments and supervised learning events.
Having spoken to many AFP clinicians, I do believe it is possible. Once I have settled into a new trust, I will first want to focus on completing my assessments as early as possible as I have during medical school, to ensure I can free up as much time to prepare for my AFP block. I think one of the biggest pearls of wisdom I have been given before starting life as a junior doctor is to be organised, and this is something I’ll take through into my academic roles too.
What is your three biggest achievements?
In the year before I started medical school, I completed a research internship over two consecutive summers at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I was part of a research team of senior medical students and upper GI surgeons, who were investigating the prognostic indicators of patients who were post-oesophageactomy and gastrectomy. My role involved reading through several hundreds of patient histopathology records to collect data and enter them into a database for analysis. Very early on in medical school, I was grateful to have an insight in what clinical research might involve and the importance of communicating it with the medical community. I was very grateful to have been acknowledged as a co-author on two observational studies and one published abstract. The primary author also presented our research findings as an international conference and at a local meeting.
My second biggest achievement was winning first prize for Best Poster Presentation, by competing with 140 other medical students at my medical school conference. It involved completing a research project I had pursued during my third year, and then performing the statistical analysis of my results during the height of the pandemic. My supervisor was an Infectious Diseases consultant, so was naturally very busy and could not supervise me as much, which meant I had to complete much of analysis myself. I nevertheless was able to put my Photoshop and graphic design skills to use to produce an award wining poster. It also contributed to help winning a Merit during my Phase II studies.
My third and final achievement was presenting and winning first prize for best Oral Presentation at the Great Ormond St Paediatric and Bioethics Masterclass. I had noticed an call for abstracts, and in a serendipitous moment I remembered a case I’d seen a few weeks prior in my Paediatric Clinic. I was accepted and with only a week’s notice to the talk, I had to create and present a 15min talk with an audience of 50 people. It was a massive confidence boost and I felt a lot of pride in my work.
