Bournemouth University Launches Medical Research Centre

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 11 Jun 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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A new era in medical education and research is unveiled in Bournemouth on Monday (June 11) with the launch of a post graduate centre dedicated to bringing medical colleagues together with academics to work collaboratively, with the ultimate aim of enhancing patient care.

The Centre of Postgraduate Medical Research and Education will be launched by Bournemouth University Vice Chancellor Paul Curran.

The Centre, based in the University's School of Health and Social Care, is a significant collaboration between the University and the NHS in Bournemouth, Poole and across Dorset.

Consultant rheumatologist Professor Paul Thompson from Poole Hospital and diabetes specialist Dr David Kerr from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital have worked with Dr Gail Thomas, Dean of the School, in getting the Centre off the ground.

There has been a 15-year relationship between the university and the NHS in the region that has involved collaboration on research and teaching but primarily in the fields of nursing, midwifery and allied health professions.

However in Bournemouth University's plan to establish centres of research excellence, the decision was made to formally tie together medical research across the local NHS with the academia of the university and to explore the potential for interprofessional work in the future.

"The new centre is about visibly bringing doctors into the university," said Professor Thompson.

"This is a win-win situation for doctors by having university facilities to assist their work and research and for the university by having the academic output.

"For example how can bio-engineering help orthopaedics with limb replacement? Having this Centre means we can now more easily exchange ideas and methods of working on researching topics.

"There is also the status from being associated with medicine and the increased research awards for the university."

Dean of School, Dr Thomas, said the Centre was set up alongside the other researchers in the school. She said she expected the Centre to lead to more and more collaborative work with the NHS along with some honorary appointments and visiting professorships.

"We will be encouraging greater collaborations programmes of research and so on and taking the research that is going on out there in a piecemeal way at the moment and co-ordinating it in a more formal way," she said.

"There are many people in practice that want to do research and developmental work - that's people in the hospitals and the wider NHS- but don't know where to start. This Centre gives them some focus."

With the support of the local hospital trusts the Centre's long-term aim is to enrich the whole environment by improving the quality of care and by increasing the attractiveness of working in the NHS in Dorset through the association with the university.

Dr Tim Battcock, Consultant Physician and Clinical Tutor at Poole Hospital will, at the launch, describe the exciting new initiative to develop University accredited degrees in practice for junior doctors enhancing their training, enriching their personal portfolio and supplementing their competency evaluations - better doctors for better local healthcare provision

Professor Thompson added: "It should also improve the status of the university by having a medical research centre here, aid recruitment and bring more research money into the university."

BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY
Fern Barrow
Poole
Dorset
BH12 5BB
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk

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