Congratulations to Prof Roger Barton who is now recognised as a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Principal Fellowship is an achievement that recognises, at the highest level, an academic’s commitment and contribution to student learning as well as their strategic leadership in teaching.
Commenting on his award Roger said “I’m pleased to gain the recognition, as I think it reflects really well on the Faculty, University and the Trust. They have all been very supportive of taking the educational agenda forward, and I’d like to think that they have seen the benefits of this. We have really witnessed the professionalisation of medical education in the last 20 years in the UK, and it is not over yet. There are so many opportunities now open to individuals who take that seriously.”
“I’d urge academics and clinicians to gain both experience and academic qualifications as early as possible – the Masters in Clinical Education was another tremendously valuable time for me, but I probably left it too late for it to have maximum benefit for myself. A lot of the success has been due to working with others, alongside colleagues, and in supporting younger clinicians and academics to explore and experiment. Variety has definitely been the spice!”
Roger is Provost & CEO of Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia. His fellowship is in recognition of activity at University and national level. He has held two key leadership roles in the Faculty; Director of Studies for the MB.BS programme and then Dean of International Medical Education. During that time he successfully set up a clinical base unit, implemented the now widely emulated Teaching and Research/Education fellowship scheme and championed staff development at all levels.
At a national level he is a Team Leader in the Quality of Medical Education for the General Medical Council. He is also clinical lead and facilitator for the Royal College of Physicians national and international Doctors as Educators series of workshops, being accorded Associate Director (Education). As Chair of the Joint Advisory Group for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Education Advisor to the NHS Endoscopy Programme, working with other key individuals he brought about key changes to the training, teaching and accreditation of endoscopists and endoscopy units across the UK and further afield.