A second KIPRIME Fellow from CRADLE!
1 September 2023
Every second year, the Karolinska Institutet (KI) awards a prize for outstanding research in medical education, the KIPRIME Prize. In the alternating year, KI runs a developmental activity for the ‘next generation’ of prize winners – up and coming leaders in medical education research. Whilst it uses the word “medical”, this is a broad use of the term which encompasses all health professions rather than being specifically about educating doctors. This year, I was privileged to be one of 15 people selected for the program from around the world. Selection involves firstly being nominated by a previous prize winner, and the submission of an application.
Following in the footsteps of an elite group of esteemed researchers, including Rola Ajjawi from CRADLE, we were hosted by Prize Director Dr Jonas Nordquist at KI in Stockholm in a whirlwind of activities. We were fortunate to spend three days with previous KIPRIME prize winners in developmental sessions focussing on elevating and accelerating our research trajectories, as well as growing our international networks.
It was wonderful to meet the other fellows and share meals, walks, photo opportunities, conversations, and most of all, lightbulb moments with them. Across the group there were some incredible synergies on the themes of diversity and inclusion, assessment and feedback, and faculty development, which made me extremely optimistic about the future of the field. I also learned a lot about how one might facilitate professional development for researchers: the faculty did an incredible job of creating a truly productive learning environment.
All in all, it was an excellent opportunity. Though I was initially nervous about how my research would stack up in comparison to others’ well-developed profiles, I have also learnt it is perhaps not entirely about our achievements as individuals. Rather, it really is about we can achieve collectively, through standing on the shoulders of giants, to inspire, motivate, and challenge each other for the betterment of health professional education, in pursuit of better patient care and easing human suffering.
