Recognising Excellence in Medical Education: a student-led award scheme

Background: The standard of clinical teaching is acknowledged by undergraduate medical students and their clinical teachers as being variable.(1) Furthermore, there is very little recognition by medical schools of the teaching expertise and efforts of clinical teachers.(2) Innovation: In response to these issues, a group of medical students at the University of Birmingham's Medical School have established an awards scheme called Recognising Excellence in Medical Education (REME). This is a student-led award scheme that is supported by the Dean and other senior medical school staff, and by the students' medical society. Method: This research used two focus groups, one comprising REME award winners and one comprising students who voted in the scheme, to discuss opinions regarding the awards, reasons why the students voted, and how clinical teachers feel about receiving the awards. Discussion: The focus groups revealed that both students and their clinical teachers were very positive about the award scheme and the impact it has had, both personally and within the hospitals or Trusts of the award winners. The REME awards were viewed as motivating and encouraging for clinical teachers, and were particularly prized as teachers were nominated by their students.