Amy shares more detail about their practice us and how they felt about being shortlisted for a Bristol Teaching Award.
- Which Award were you shortlisted for?
Innovative and inspiring teaching award, individual
- How did you feel when you found out you had been shortlisted for an Award?
When I heard that i had been shortlisted, I was over the moon! I did not think for one moment that I would be nominated, let alone shortlisted! it is a huge honour for me, especially as I am at the beginning of my teaching career.
- Can you tell us a little bit about your practice and why you were nominated?
The majority of my nominations were for the work I have done with setting up a neuter clinic within the vet school to assist in teaching clinical skills to our final year vet students. During this time, I worked hard to make this an enjoyable rotation for our students, and one where they would be able to achveive clinical excellence, under the close supervision of a friendly team. I also tried to ensure we had collaborative working, with our nursing students also joining this rotation. I have tried to ensure the clinic ran in a way that was both supportive, but also gave the final year students a feel for what real life will be like when they graduate. I think it can be easy to forget that although they are here to acheive, they also need to have the opportunity to sometimes get it wrong, and not be scared to see this in a clinical setting. I try to teach in a way that is supportive, but nutures students to learn by their own mistakes, with understanding for why we do things in the way we do.
- What inspires you to go the extra mile with your teaching?
I have worked in the veterinary profession for nearly 20 years, and i would say the one thing that inspires me, and keeps me in this role is that everyone has something to offer: In a world full of amazing, inspiring and educated people, it can be really easy for us (and our students) to feel like they have nothing to offer or are not as valuable as others- I have always beleived that everyone (no matter what the role or education level) has something that they can offer, whether it be to add value to a clincial case, or sit patiently and calm an anxious animal, or even keeping the tea and coffee flowing, everyone has something that they bring to the table, and being a teacher is about pulling that out of someone and letting them shine on their own merits.
- What would you like to share with others about your teaching practice?
I dont have anything particular to share, having been teaching for a short time (3 years) I feel I am still learning from others, but I would say that I hope to continue my career the way I have started it, with patience, and respect for each and every student that I teach.