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Visitor teams: Brighton Sussex Medical School

As part of the quality assurance process, medical schools are assessed by teams of visitors.

Below are details about the visitors who visited Brighton Sussex Medical School during the 2007/8 cycle of visits.

Team leader: Professor Peter Baylis

Peter H. Baylis is the retired Dean of Medicine and Provost of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and retired Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle.

Currently, he leads the GMC Visiting Team at the new Brighton Sussex Medical School. He is also Vice-Chairman and Non-Executive Director of the Newcastle Hospitals Foundation Trust, Trustee of the Clinical Endocrinology Board and Trustee of the William Leech Charity.

He graduated MB ChB from the University of Bristol in 1970, having taken an intercalated BSc in Biochemistry. He was awarded MD (Birmingham) in 1978. Having gained MRCP in 1973 he was elected FRCP in 1983. He is a Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (F Med Sci, 1998). Early clinical training was in Bristol and Birmingham. He won a Fulbright-Hays Senior Fellowship and a Wellcome Research Travel Fellowship to gain clinical and laboratory research training in the USA.

Peter Baylis took up the post Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist and Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle in 1980. He became Professor of Experimental Medicine in 1990, Clinical Sub-Dean of the Medical School in 1991, Dean in 1997, Provost in 2001 and Pro-Vice Chancellor in 2004.

He has research interests in salt and water homeostasis (140 research papers, 60 chapters and 3 books) and supervised 17 research fellows.

His interests in medical education include both under- and postgraduate teaching and training. He is the author of the Newcastle 1993 clinical curriculum. He has sat on numerous academic and clinical committees in the NHS, the University, the Royal College of Physicians and the Society for Endocrinology.

Professor John Spencer

John Spencer graduated MBChB from Edinburgh University in 1973.

He is Professor of Medical Education, and Sub-Dean for Primary and Community Care in the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University.

He is a GP, practising in the West End of Newcastle, and has been involved in health care education and training for over 20 years.

His main roles are in undergraduate medical education, but he has had involvement in pre and post registration nurse education, paramedic and pharmacist training, dental and veterinary education, GP vocational training, on-line learning, postgraduate teaching, CPD, and staff development, both in the UK and Eire, as well as overseas (eg USA, Malaysia, Australia and the Caribbean).

He has extensive experience both of health service and educational research, as well as service development in primary care. He has a particular interest in teaching about communication skills, professionalism and patient safety.

He is Specialist Advisor to the HEA Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, Editor of The Clinical Teacher and Deputy Editor of Medical Education, member of ASME Executive and Educational Research Group, and is Fellow of Centre for Excellence for Teaching and Learning, CETL4HealthNE.

He was awarded the BUPA Communication Award in 2000 for innovations in undergraduate teaching about diversity.

Dr Celia Duff

Dr Celia Duff is an Associate Postgraduate Dean and Head of School for Public Health in the East of England. She is also the recent past Assistant Academic Registrar for the Faculty of Public Health and a Fellow of Clare College Cambridge where she is the Director of Studies for Clinical Medicine. All these posts combine an interest and expertise in medical education, from the early selection of medical students and their support through training in Cambridge to the delivery of high quality training in public health to consultant level. Her national post in the Faculty of Public health carried responsibility for implementing Modernising Medical Careers in which capacity she has driven forward the initiative to incorporate public health in Foundation Programmes and led the work on the new public health curriculum for higher specialist training. She is closely involved with the teaching of public health to undergraduates, from basic epidemiological and social science to international health issues.

Celia has practised in public health for twenty years and was previously a general practitioner. Celia also has significant experience in humanitarian work having been deployed by the UK government in support of the Kosovo crisis and the reconstruction of health services in Iraq.

Dr Roger Green

Professor Green was appointed as Professor of Physiology at Manchester Medical School in 1981. In 1993 he was asked to become the first Dean of Medical Undergraduate Studies, with a remit to introduce the new Medical curriculum from 1994.
In 1997 he was appointed Dean of the Medical School, a position he held until 2003. When he voluntarily stepped down he assumed the leadership of the Cancer Studies Group until his retirement in 2005.

He has served the GMC as a member and then as an Associate since 1995. Currently he is a Chairman of the Investigation Committee and a visitor for the Education Committee.

Dr Jennie Lambert

Following graduation from Leeds University Medical School in June 2006 Jennie is currently working as an FY1 doctor at St James’ Hospital in Leeds.

Throughout her undergraduate education Jennie has been heavily involved in student representation and medical curriculum development. Roles, including President of the Leeds Medical Student Council, and positions on numerous Course Management Teams at Leeds have helped her to develop experience in student feedback and support, curriculum enhancement and delivery and in the assessment process.

Her interest in medical ethics and the importance of multi professional teams in healthcare led her to become a key member in the development of multidisciplinary ethics and law teaching packages.

As runner-up in the Real World UK Graduate of the Year 2006 competition Jennie has been able to draw public attention to the importance of extra curricula opportunities, an area of student development that must be considered when shaping the doctors of the future.

As a member of the QABME visiting teams she continues to build on her experience in student welfare, curriculum delivery and assessment, medical ethics and student representation.

Professor Robert Mansel

Robert Mansel is Professor of Surgery at the University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff. He was formerly Professor of Surgery in the University of Manchester from 1989-1992. He trained in London, Swindon and Cardiff after graduating from Charing Cross Hospital Medical School. He spent one year in the University of Texas as an UICC Clinical Fellow.

His major interests are in benign breast disease, new techniques in breast cancer surgery and breast reconstruction. He was the elected Chairman of the British Association of Surgical Oncology Breast Group from 1998 to 2002 and serves on many Department of Health Committees including the Cancer Subgroup of the Clinical Outcomes Group and the Primary Care Referral Group. He is a member of the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Committee and the Cancer Committee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (Chair 2003-5).

He holds many research grants from major grant giving bodies such as the MRC, CRC and R&D Offices of both England and Wales. His research interests include spread of cancers, service changes in breast cancer management and sentinel node biopsy techniques in breast cancer and melanoma. He is the principal investigator of the UK trial of sentinel node biopsy (the ALMANAC trial), and is chair of the steering committee for the UK NEW START sentinel node training programme.

He has lectured widely on these topics and in recent years has given eponymous lectures in Scandinavia, France and India.

He was Chairman of the Editorial Committee, which produced the first revision of the NICE breast guidelines in 2002.

He is currently Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff University, and has been appointed to the GMC team of inspectors for the new medical school in Brighton/Sussex.

He is currently past President of the British Association of Surgical Oncology.

Professor Paul O'Neill

Paul O’Neill was the first Professor of Medical Education at the University of Manchester and is a consultant physician with special interests in geriatric and stroke medicine. He is the Head of Manchester Medical School and Deputy Dean for the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences. Paul is the University appointed governor for the South Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. His research interests are programme evaluation and problem-based learning. Paul received a National Teaching Fellowship in 2001. He is the director for the Universities Medical Assessment Partnership. Internationally, Paul has been a member of Faculty for the Harvard-Macy medical educators programme and has acted as an education consultant in Europe and North America. In 2005, he led the successful bid for a Centre of Excellence for enquiry-based learning.

Professor Susan Standring

Professor of Experimental Neurobiology and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Human Sciences, King’s College London. Editor-in-Chief, Gray’s Anatomy (39th edition; and currently preparing 40th edition).

For 10 years I was the Admissions Dean for Medicine at UMDS and then at KCL, where I championed the Access to Medicine Programme.

She says: “I remain actively involved in curriculum development, specifically of basic science modules for medical, dental and science undergraduates, and postgraduate courses in applied anatomy for surgical trainees. My main research interests are the repair of traumatic injuries in the PNS, and the neuroinvasive routes for prion protein in acquired TSE, with particular emphasis on uptake of infectious agent via the gut wall.”

Mrs Sara Nathan

Sara Nathan worked at the BBC for 15 years from 1980 -1995 culminating in helping to launch Radio 5live and then editing the morning programme there. She joined ITN as Editor of the award-winning Channel 4 News.

Since leaving ITN in December 1997, she has had several public appointments and has done freelance writing and broadcast production. Sara was on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for seven years until October 2005. For several years she chaired inspections of IVF facilities all over the British Isles. Sara was on the ethics committee and the scientific and clinical advances group. She was the inaugural chair of the HFEA’s research licence committee.

She is now a member of the main board of Ofcom, the communications regulator. She also chairs the Animal Procedures Committee, which advises the Home Office on the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act. Sara has also recently taken up office as a member of the new Judicial Appointments Commission.

Ms Ruth Heseltine

Ruth Heseltine graduated from the University of Nottingham with a Psychology BSc in 2005. During her 4 years in Nottingham Ruth was Chair of the Students' Union Council, Chair of NUS National Council, and completed a sabbatical year as General Secretary of the University of Nottingham Students' Union.

Currently Ruth is in the 3rd year of Graduate Entry Programme Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. At medical school she has continued her student representation and is currently the Co-chair of the Student-Staff Committee. Ruth also volunteers at an elderly befriending project, Griffin Community Trust, in London's East End and works part-time at a Hackney GP practice as a medical secretary.