maureen Kelly

Research

My research interests lie in the fields of Medical Education and Communication Skills.  Currently, I am collaborating with Dr Siun O Flynn and colleagues in the Medical School UCC to establish the predictive validity of the Health Professions Admissions Test (HPAT) with respect to undergraduate medical students’ performance in tests of professionalism and communication skills. 

I have an interest in the validity of various medical school selection tools. This is the focus of my MD, which is currently at the pilot stage.

My Masters thesis evaluated the impact of the new undergraduate communication skills teaching programme at NUI Galway.  I am interested in defining how communication skills are best learned and retained in order that they positively contribute to the doctor patient encounter. I have looked at how the issue of professional attitudes can be taught and assessed at an undergraduate level.

Undergraduate Teaching

As Course Director I am responsible for the design, delivery, assessment and quality assurance of the undergraduate General Practice course for 115 medical students. This includes supporting programme delivery at the affiliated Academic Centres in Sligo and Ballyvaughan. The General Practice course is split equally between small group teaching and clinical attachments with a GP. The clinical attachments are supported by over 70 University Affiliated GP practices.  Working in collaboration with my colleagues, on the Western Training Programme in General Practice, I organize an annual “Teachers in General Practice” weekend meeting.  This meeting offers teaching skill updates to all our GP tutors and the GP trainers of the Western Programme.

My face to face teaching largely revolves around communication skills and management of acute illness in the community to the fourth year students.  

I initiated and co-lead an innovative Special Study Module for First and Second Year students where we teach Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to school children. This programme is now in its fourth year and operates closely with the University’s Community Knowledge Initiative.  A unique feature of this programme is that the teaching is conducted through Irish in the Gaeltacht national schools and Gael Scoileanna. 
To hear more about this SSM, listen to the podcast of an interview I gave on Raidió na Gaeltachta recently about a day spent in Furbo national school teaching CPR or have a look at the special SSO page on our website.

Postgraduate Teaching and Supervision

I have taught on the Postgraduate Diploma and Masters in Health Sciences (Primary Care) programmes and have delivered teaching skills development workshops through the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.  

I teach GP Registrars Personal Professional Development and Communication Skills on the Western Training Programme in General Practice.

I am Academic Mentor for the Academic Module in General Practice, – this is a pilot scheme offering hands on academic experience, supervision and mentoring to a GP trainee in the fourth year of training. 

Completed Postgraduate Supervision:

• H. Mc Mahon 2004 Masters in Health Sciences (Primary Care) “What do patients hope for from a Specialist Palliative Care Service?”

Current Postgraduate Supervision:

• Dr. Rosemary Geoghegan, Masters in Clinical Education: “Learning together: Simultaneous Clinical Attachment for Graduate and Undergraduate Medical Students; a qualitative study”

Selected Publications

Kelly M. A Practical Guide for Teachers of Communication skills: a summary of current approaches to teaching and assessing communication skills. Education for Primary Care 2007;18:1:1-10.

F Chambers, M Kelly. Violence at work: the experience of general practice receptionists. Irish Medical Journal 2006;99:6:169-171.

Glynn LG, MacFarlane A, Kelly M, Cantillon P, Murphy AW. Helping each other to learn--a process evaluation of peer assisted learning.  BMC Med Educ. 2006 Mar 8;6:18.

Kelly M, Murphy A. An evaluation of the cost of designing, delivering and assessing an undergraduate communication skills module. Clinical Teacher 2004;26:7:610-614.

Kelly M, Fenlon N. Attitude Awareness: Helping students make the link between attitudes and interpersonal behaviour. Medical Education 2003; 37:1025-1049.

Kelly M, Fenlon N & Murphy AW. An approach to the education about, and assessment of, attitudes in undergraduate medical education. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2002; 171:4:206-210