Mission: My mission as an educator is to help improve the care of people with mental health/ substance use disorders, and other underserved groups in primary care, by integrating principles of evidence-based practice into my teaching.
Enhancement of Teaching
I enhance my teaching through development and delivery of educational interventions on addiction medicine:
- Development and process evaluation of an educational intervention to support primary care of problem alcohol among drug users. (Drugs and Alcohol Today, 2014, 14(2):76-86)
- Educational Outreach Visits to general practitioners who participate in a PINTA feasibility study – Psychosocial INTerventions for problem Alcohol use among problem drug users in general practice. The goal of an educational outreach visit is to provide educational support for GP study participants following attendance at the Alcohol Screening, Brief Interventions, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) training.
- Development and Process Evaluation of an Educational Intervention for Overdose Prevention and Naloxone Distribution by General Practice Trainees. (2015: BMC Med Education (15):206)
Please see a full list of all educational evaluations here.
Review and Enhancement of Curriculum
I develop and co-deliver curricula for addiction research and systematic reviews by medical students:
1) Teaching literature reviews: Addressing a Training Gap through Addiction Research Education for Medical Students. (2015: Substance Abuse, 36(1):3-5)
Aims and scope:
To support research activity by medical students on commonly encountered problems in general practice through methodological advice, mentoring and one-one interaction.
To date, I supported literature reviews and other research activity by medical students on problems commonly encountered in general practice by providing methodological advice and mentoring, through one-one interaction and webinars. Participants were those students who agreed to complete a project with the authors’ research group, and collaborators represented disciplines such as Biostatistics, General Practice, Internal Medicine, Neurosciences, Paediatrics, Psychiatry and Public Health.
2) Thesis Supervision: A Follow-up Study of the Primary care of Patients Undergoing Opioid Substitution Treatment (OST) pilot (Anna Keane, B.S.), Dublin: University College Dublin, 2014 (2016: Eur J Gen Practice, 22(1): 64.)
Developing as an Educator
I develop as an addiction educator through regular training and continuous professional development:
2020 (Online) Teaching Internship, Centre for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning
2014 (Jan-Jun) Research Supervisor Support and Development Programme (RSSDP), University College Dublin, Research Skills & Career Development Centre.
2009 (Nov) Getting started with Problem-based learning, Dublin, Centre for Learning and Teaching, University College Dublin
2004-2005 Teaching and Learning Certificate; State Exam, Trnava University, Slovakia
Innovation & Leadership
Member of the Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders (2013-present)
Member of The Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (2014-present)
Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), Associate (2019-present)
Member of Centre for Health Education Scholarship, (2019-present)
Teaching Philosophy and Diversity
I believe that everyone can achieve extraordinary things with the right guidance. But we are all unique individuals, so no one-size-fits-all approach to education can provide the right guidance for all learners. Some situations, however, require harmonized teaching involving, for example, classes of hundreds in which many students will not be highly motivated learners. In such situations, I use approaches that focus on accuracy, brevity, and clarity while enabling as much interaction as possible, at least via rhetorical questions. In small classes, interaction is my primary tool. In either situation, encouraging student engagement with the issues is my paramount aim, but I continuously adapt my style to the needs of my audience. In this way, I believe that I not only address the needs of my students but also contribute to the global knowledge economy.
In both my teaching and mentorship, I go out of my way to support students and workers from underrepresented backgrounds to succeed. I use a diversity-sensitive recruitment strategy to select my staff to ensure it reflects the range of genders, skin colours, ancestries, and national origins. My extensive experience with low-threshold services has shaped my teaching practice, which incorporates antiracist and destigmatizing pedagogy as an essential element. I see myself not only adding to the international diversity of any higher-education campus, but also contributing, through my teaching and research, to an increasing awareness of the value of other forms of diversity. In brief, I have a life-long record of working for diversity and equity as well as a firm commitment to integrate these values into my future efforts.