Dr Kim Walker

Biography

Dr Kim Walker was appointed in 2019 as the 1st Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Health Education Research and Innovation (CHERI) to lead on faculty development and the delivery of pedagogic research.  She has been involved in research for over 30 years, with significant experience in qualitative and quantitative data including big data and population studies.  Her main areas of research are career choice and decision making, impact of generational issues, faculty development and doctors wellbeing.   More recently she has been appointed as the research lead for physician associates.  Kim has pioneered the use of novel methods of presenting and disseminating research output to ensure maximum effect and to reach out to new and diverse audiences whilst creating high impact academic articles.

Dr Kim Walker is an Aberdeen graduate who had an established research career in clinical pharmacology and human physiology before progressing to management roles.  In 2001, Kim started employment in NHS Education for Scotland (NES) where she was the Education Director and Scotland Foundation School Director. This involved a broad portfolio of work including management of ACT funds, quality management and research and representing NES on the Scottish Medical Education Research Consortium (SMERC) Project Board.  Kim was seconded on a part-time basis to the UK Foundation Programme Office (UKFPO), the body which oversees the two years of postgraduate medical training following medical school, as Special Advisor and represented UKFPO on the UKMED Research Group and Project Board. She left these roles in 2018.  

External Memberships

In 2018, Kim was appointed Director of Journals on the Association for Study of Medical Education (ASME) Board.  In 2019, Kim was appointed Director of Publications on the ASME Board.  She has responsibility for the Journals, Medical Education and The Clinical Teacher together with the text books Understanding Medical Education and Researching Medical Education.

Kim has been an Educational Associate with the GMC for over 6 years particularly in Quality Management.

Prizes and Awards

2017 - Scholarship Award - NHS Education for Scotland

2022 - Research in Medical Education - NHS Education for Scotland

2023 - President's Medal - Association for the Study of Medical Education

Research Overview

Kim's main research interests are related to selection and assessment and career decision making in both undergraduates and postgraduates, especially the early years.  More recently, Kim has developed an interest in training for the future generations and how learning and teaching needs to adapt to each the new generation who have different learning styles and values.  More recently she has been investigating doctors wellbeing especially during Covid-19 pandemic.

Kim has experience of both quantitative and qualitative research and has supervised honours students as well as Ph.D students.

Current Research

CSO Covid 19 rapid research study - To develop evidence-based interventions to support doctors’ well-being and promote resilience during COVID-19 related transitions (and beyond).

UKMED study - "Investigating associations of post-graduate examination performance with socio-demographic characteristics, performance at medical school, medical school, SJT, and foundation school: a focus on first stage examinations of MRCP, MRCGP and MRCPsych."

Royal College of Surgeons -  "The ‘Improving Surgical Training’ pilot: A mixed methods comparative evaluation of the Scottish experience."

SMERC - "Enhancing the quality and safety of care through training generalist doctors: a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of broad-based training programmes in Scotland and Northern Ireland. "

SMERC - "An activity theory exploration of faculty development in three Scottish Medical Schools"

Research Fellowship: - Training for future generations

Collaborations

NHS Education for Scotland

University of Edinburgh

UKMED

Royal college of Surgeons

NHS Grampian

All medical schools in Scotland - Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, St Andrews 

Teaching Responsibilities

Kim teaches on the postgraduate Clinical Education courses and is the main examiner for the M.Sc. dissertations.

Kim has recently co-edited and published the book "Starting Research in Clinical Education" which is a key text for new researchers especially those undertaking an intercalated degree or a postgraduate qualification.