I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and a Member of the Academy of Medical Educators (MAcadMEd) – one of few people in Canada to hold both. I previously held a number of paramedic educator positions in the UAE, the USA, and Canada. I taught the US National Registry NREMT Refresher program for several years, and was an instructor trainer for over 20 ‘alphabet soup’ courses (BLS, ACLS, ACLS-EP, PALS, ITLS, PHTLS, AMLS etc.). I’m a volunteer instructor with the Irish Red Cross since 2001, most recently involved with the national EFR and EMT training programmes.
I have experience teaching paramedics and healthcare professional students in vocational, regulatory, college, and university settings across a number of countries and jurisdictions. This experience includes face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online delivery and facilitation of learning, including high and low fidelity simulation settings.
I mainly use constructivist approaches to teaching, such as problem-based learning, cooperative learning and guided instruction. I encourage academic debate using the Socratic method, and indeed encourage dissent in my classes, as I am a firm believer that it helps to prepare students for real-life interactions. I am a supporter of free speech, and logical debate…not argument. Critical thinking and critical reasoning skills are essential to clinical practice, and by researching and formulating logical arguments, students will develop those skills and hone them during their clinical careers.
I deliver courses such as Contemporary Paramedic Practice, Interpersonal Skills for Healthcare Professionals, Research Methods, Care of Vulnerable Populations, Professional Issues in Paramedicine, and Social Policy and Healthcare.
