Congratulations to Shemona Rozario on her ANZAHPE Associate Fellowship!

Shemona is a passionate educator, medical practitioner, and early career health professions education researcher who recently completed her PhD. Her PhD thesis explores the professional identity development of doctors when considering specialisation and she is enthusiastic about expanding her research into the future.

Shemona decided to apply for Associate Fellowship of ANZAHPE to formalise her contributions to health professions education research, further her growth and development as a health professions education researcher, and to further build her connections within the ANZAHPE community as she transitions to a postdoctoral career.

Meet one of our newest members, Andrew Nguyen.

Andrew Nguyen is a current Infectious Diseases Physician, Senior Lecturer and Specialty Supervisor for the University of Queensland (UQ) Rural Clinical School, and a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Western Australia Centre for Rural Health. This follows being an Associate Lecturer with UQ since 2015. Andrew's role involves delivering teaching to students and clinicians and coordinating and leading examinations of penultimate year medical students. In his research role, he is currently analyzing diabetes educator training capacity throughout Australia, with an emphasis on accreditation in rural and remote areas. He is also trying to improve his teaching skills by undertaking a Graduate Certificate of Health Professions Education at the University of Western Australia.

"I joined ANZAHPE after hearing of the opportunities to network and present research in the field of health professions education from my colleagues who are members. I am interested in attending the ANZAHPE conference in June, and I was fortunate to be awarded a Newnham Fellowship to complete my studies in Health Professions Education and attend the conference. I hope to eventually produce research and present at the conference to improve the delivery of education to my peers."

Meet one of our Research Grant submissions: BOOST (Big Interview Online Skill Training) Project

We are excited to share the details of our project, BOOST (Big Interview Online Skill Training), which focuses on enhancing job interview preparedness for international postgraduate students in non-clinical health programs, such as Public Health and Health Services Management. This initiative leverages the Big Interview platform, an AI-powered mock interview tool, to provide tailored, on-demand training that increases students’ confidence and readiness for the competitive job market.

This project stems from a recognized need to better support international students, who often face unique barriers to employment, including unfamiliar recruitment practices and the challenges of navigating competitive markets. By integrating Big Interview into our academic programs, we aim to bridge the gap between academic preparation and employability. The platform’s AI-driven feedback and customizable features enable students to develop digital competencies, refine their self-presentation skills, and gain insights into AI-driven assessments—essential tools for succeeding in modern recruitment processes.

We chose to pursue this project to address a critical gap in career readiness support for non-clinical health students, a demographic often overlooked in employability initiatives. A pilot program run in 2024 has provided early indicators of impact:

“Be more prepared for interviews with confidence”

“Great platform to excel interview skills”

- Health Services Management graduates , 2024

As digital interviews and AI-driven recruitment practices become more prevalent, providing students with practical experience in these areas is essential. BOOST not only equips students with the necessary skills but also promotes equity by ensuring all students, regardless of their background, can compete effectively in the global job market.

Applying for an ANZAHPE grant was a natural choice, given the organization’s commitment to advancing health professions education. The grant supports innovative projects that address contemporary challenges, such as integrating digital tools into education and enhancing graduate outcomes.

We remain committed to exploring other avenues to bring BOOST to life, as we believe it has the potential to significantly enhance graduate outcomes. We are grateful to ANZAHPE for their support and for recognizing the value of initiatives that integrate innovation and equity into health professions education. This acknowledgment encourages us to continue striving for impactful solutions that benefit students and the wider academic and professional community.

Ernesta Sofija, Minalli Vasandani, Nina Perry, Reece HinchCliff and Georgina Sanger.

Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Congratulations to Enoch Chan on his Associate Fellowship with ANZAHPE.

Enoch is a Lecturer at School of Clinical Medicine and School of Biomedical Sciences, LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed). He teaches Physiology for undergraduate programmes in Medicine, Pharmacy, Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine offered by HKUMed. He also coordinates various educational technology and near-peer teaching initiatives within the Faculty.

Prior to joining HKUMed, Dr Chan completed his PhD in Pathology at University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), with a focus on cardiovascular diseases. He subsequently worked as a Biomedical Educational Developer at UNSW Sydney.

Enoch is now undertaking part-time postgraduate studies in Medical Education at University of Dundee.

“To me the ANZAHPE Associate Fellowship has two meanings: recognition of my engagement and scholarship in health professions education and belonging to the ANZAHPE community. When I attended my very first ANZAHPE conference in 2024, I was warmly welcomed by people I met, and I had lots of encouraging and stimulating conversations. This cultivated in me a sense of belonging at ANZAHPE. I look forward to working more closely with other members of ANZAPHE in the future.”

Meet one of our Research Grant submissions: Investigating the application of artificial intelligence (AI) driven virtual patients (VPs) for healthcare students to develop communication skills

As a lecturer and PhD candidate from the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, my research aims to build the evidence base around AI-driven virtual patients (VPs) for enhancing health professions students' communication skills. This project originated in 2022, with initial planning and groundwork preceding the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. The surge of interest and possibilities in this field since then has been truly remarkable.

Alongside my supervisors, I am exploring this area due to the challenges posed by increasing student numbers, limited placement opportunities, and the well-established importance of effective patient-clinician communication. Our goal is to investigate the landscape of conversational AI agents representing patients and consult key stakeholders about their attitudes and needs regarding these emerging learning tools. Following from this, we aim to investigate if and how these tools may reach their goal of furthering students’ development of communication skills.

Through a scoping review published earlier this year (https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.9307), we have examined the tools discussed in the literature. Subsequently, we have focused on understanding the attitudes of students and educators towards these tools. It is crucial to carefully consider the pedagogical approach when incorporating AI-driven VPs into our curricula. The insights from these stakeholder groups have been invaluable in identifying design and implementation factors to consider for the development and use of AI-driven VPs. We hope to share these findings broadly in the near future.

Moving forward, we are concentrating on investigating solutions that continue to incorporate student voices through co-design and address the needs identified through our consultations with educators and students to date. It is essential to find cost-effective solutions for all healthcare programs that can effectively target the desired learning objectives.

If you have an interest in this project or the broader area of research and teaching involving AI-driven VPs, please reach out. I would love to discuss it further!

- Patrick Bowers, University of Melbourne.

Focus on Health Professional Education (FoHPE) is pleased to share the latest Clarivate journal metrics:

2023 Journal Impact Factor: 1.4

2023 5-year Impact Factor: 1.3

Journal Impact Factor rank: 43/86, Q2

The Q2 rank and impact factor are great results for FoHPE! Thank you to all the authors and reviewers who have contributed to FoHPE, researchers who have cited FoHPE articles and editorial staff, Editorial Board and designers who have worked so hard on FoHPE over several years.

FoHPE’s goal now is to strengthen the Q2 rank and improve the impact factor.

FoHPE needs your help! The Impact Factor and Q2 ranking metrics are based on article citations. Please cite FoHPE articles whenever appropriate and encourage your colleagues and students to do the same.

Please remember to submit your articles to FoHPE. FoHPE is a peer-reviewed, open access journal that is published by ANZAHPE - publication charges are waved when one or more authors of an article is an ANZAHPE member. Please see fohpe.org for author guidelines.

Please also review FoHPE articles when invited by the Editorial Board and editorial staff. If you’d like to be placed on FoHPE’s ‘keen reviewer’ list, please email ANZAHPEoffice@flinders.edu.au

Congratulations to Michael Tran on his Associate Fellowship with ANZAHPE.

Michael Tran is an early-career academic general practitioner at UNSW. Currently, he convenes the undergraduate primary care program UNSW. I work part time in clinical practice with a broad range of interests including procedural practice. Outside of the office Michael enjoys spending time with family, and in the ocean as a surf lifesaver.

"I have a broad range of research interests spanning from the scholarship of teaching and learning in undergraduate medical education to postgraduate general practice education. I am involved in curriculum design and evaluation at both an undergraduate and postgraduate level. The learning journey is of particular interest with the impact clinical rotations, apprenticeship-style models and artificial intelligence all featuring in my scholarly inquiry. My PhD is exploring the transitions experienced by postgraduate GP trainees, with a focus on the role of uncertainty in learning and specialist practice.

I have been very fortunate to be mentored by wonderful colleagues at ANZAHPE and have learnt so much already to help my own learning, practice, and research. Applying for fellowship would help me engage further with colleagues and health professional educators. I aim to further my own experience and develop expertise in scholarly educational practice."

Congratulations to Mahbub Sarkar on his Fellowship with ANZAHPE.

Mahbub is a Senior Lecturer in education research at Monash University’s Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences and an Academic Development Specialist at the Monash Education Academy. A Senior Fellow (SFHEA) of Advance HE, his research focuses on professional development for university educators, exploring evolution of health professions education, and fostering employability in healthcare students, using qualitative and mixed-methods designs. His work is published in top-ranked education journals.

Mahbub's interests lie in continuing professional development, educator identity, graduate employability, generic/transferable skills development, evolution of health professions education, research methodologies

"ANZAHPE’s welcoming, supportive community inspired me to apply for Fellowship. Committed to advancing health professions education, I’m excited to deepen my involvement by promoting scholarship, mentorship, and growth for junior colleagues. The Fellowship empowers me to continue contributing meaningfully to ANZAHPE’s mission and the future of our field."

Congratulations to Kristie Matthews on her ANZAHPE Associate Fellowship.

Kristie is a Senior Research Fellow in the Monash Centre for Scholarship in Health Education and Senior Lecturer in the School of Primary and Allied Health Care, in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. A radiation therapist by background, Kristie's previous role for six years was Education Coordinator for radiation therapy services at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Kristie's scholarly interests include health professional student preparedness for practice; work based learning; and post-qualification education and practise.

"I highly value the collegiate and supportive network that being a member of ANZAHPE provides. Applying for Associate Fellowship was an important step in being a part of this community, and to be recognised by my health professions education peers"

Congratulations to Neil Osheroff on his Fellowship with ANZAHPE.

Neil Osheroff is Professor of Biochemistry and Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and holds the John G. Coniglio Chair in Biochemistry. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Northwestern University and was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine. Beyond his research laboratory, he is the longest standing course director in the School of Medicine and co-directs the Foundations of Medical Knowledge pre-clerkship phase and the Human Blueprint and Architecture foundational science course. He is a Past-Director of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Academy for Excellence in Education and is also a Past-President of the Association of Biochemistry Educators and the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE). In addition to his recognition as Fellow of ANZAHPE, Neil has received awards for mentoring, teaching, curricular design, educational leadership and service, and diversity and inclusion, including the “Distinguished Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Educational Scholarship” from IASME and the “Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award” from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE).

My scholarly interests in health professions education include curricular design and integration, basic science medical education, competency-based assessment and feedback, programmatic evaluation, faculty development and professional identity formation, mentoring, and leadership and change management.

I have been involved with ANZHPE for several years, ever since I attended my first annual conference in Newcastle in 2015. I really enjoyed the conference and the people who I met there. Subsequently, I have attended a number of annual meetings and worked closely with the leaders of ANZAHPE while I was an officer of IAMSE, to strengthen relationships between the two Associations. As a result, I have developed a number of close friendships with colleagues in ANZAHPE. I applied for the ANZAHPE Fellowship because I felt that it would provide me with a platform to become more involved with the Association, especially with regard to mentoring and helping to develop younger educators. I am humbled and honored to have been elected as a Fellow of ANZAHPE, especially being the first Fellow from a country outside of Australia or New Zealand. I look forward to becoming even more involved in the Association in my new capacity.