Meet our very first DFTB Fellow…Rebecca Paxton

Team DFTB is excited to announce that over the next two years we will have six DFTB Fellows working in the Paediatric Emergency Department at the Royal London Hospital with specifically dedicated DFTB time each week. We will introduce you to them all as they start – they are a mix of paediatric and EM trainees, most of whom are at the end of their training, and who come from the UK, Ireland, Australia, and South Africa. Our first DFTB Fellow, Rebecca Paxton, started with us this week. It’s time to meet her and find out what she will be working on…

How are you feeling about being the first ever DFTB Fellow?

I am absolutely ecstatic, and a bit disbelieving. To have non-clinical time to dedicate to education is an absolute dream come true.

I’m also just a little worried about the capacity for snacking that working at a desk will afford.

What attracted you to the role?

I’ve always had an interest in medical education. I’m sure part of it comes from being around people in that world, and the enthusiasm they bring to their work that is almost palpable.

For me, it’s very difficult not to want to be a part of that.

I’d been using DFTB as a resource for a long time before I moved to London (from Adelaide) and met Tessa at work. With her encouragement, I reluctantly joined Twitter, and all of a sudden the world of FOAM stretched out before me (picture the Lion King, Simba, “everything the light touches” etc). I had never imagined that social media could be so intellectually stimulating and inspiring. Of course I was immediately desperate to be involved, and this role presented itself as the perfect opportunity.

What project will you be working on and why?

I’ll be working on curating a six month Paediatric Emergency Medicine teaching programme that lines up with the curricula of the relevant colleges in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The idea is that anyone working in PEM can access this programme, and use part of it (or the whole thing) as a framework to facilitate their own departmental teaching.

My hope is that we will link up with other FOAM resources, and create a dynamic programme that will continue to grow and change with time.

What will you be doing for the rest of your week?

The rest of my working week will be spent in the Paediatric A&E at the Royal London Hospital, seeing patients and co-ordinating our weekly teaching rota.

In my time off, I’ll be escaping London as often as possible to walk from one cute pub to the next in the British countryside.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m very excited about meeting and working with others interested in medical education, and delving even deeper in to the world of FOAM.

I’ll also look forward to learning how to tweet properly. I feel confident that I’ll get there one day.

Can others get involved to help you with this project?

Absolutely. This project is very much in its infancy (I’m sure there’s a paediatric pun in there somewhere), and all help is very welcome.

In the early stages, I’d love to hear from anyone who has had any experience with departmental teaching (so, any doctor, anywhere) as to what sort of resources would be useful to them, and how teaching works in their department. Later on, we will be putting a call out for people who can help us to create content for specific modules, so if you have a special interest or skill, please get in touch. ​

You can contact Rebecca on rebecca.paxton@nhs.net and you can find her on twitter @rlpax