King’s College London: King’s lecturer wins award for outstanding impact on student outcomes and teaching
Nominated by King’s, Dr Hearn was described as an inspirational and innovative clinical educator who places medical student learning at the heart of healthcare to achieve synergistic enhancement of learning alongside improved patient outcomes. The award recognises the unique learning opportunities he created for healthcare students to be part of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside innovations he has led in undergraduate and postgraduate education over the past decade which have had national and international impact.
In July 2021, Dr Hearn played an important role in driving the COVID-19 vaccination programme in North London, where he led on the organisation of outreach clinics at mosques, community centres, food banks and homeless hospitals. He also helped set up and run a pop-up vaccination clinic at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.
More than 4,500 vaccine doses were also delivered at a 24-hour vaccine service Dr Hearn ran with the help of students. The ‘jabathon’, which took place the week before Christmas last year, began at 6pm on a Friday and continued through the entire night to finish at 6pm the following day.
Dr Hearn is a Reader in Medical Education and the Deputy Director of Community Education in the School of Life Course & Population Sciences. He leads on several areas of the medical school curriculum within GKT School of Medical Education, as well as leading a BSc in Primary Care. Clinically, he works as a GP in North London and is also a Dean of Primary Care at Health Education England.
Receiving a National Teaching Fellowship is an extraordinary honour, and I was very proud to have been nominated by King’s. It has been a challenging few years for all educators and clinicians, but working within the Medical School I have been able to focus on student experience and co-creating healthcare interventions with students from across King’s to improve health equity in London. The award recognises not just my work, but the supportive and collaborative teams that I work with, and the inspirational students who make teaching at King’s such a pleasure.”
– Dr Russell Hearn
Dr Hearn joins a total of 54 individuals from across UK Higher Education institutions to be added to the ranks of National Teaching Fellows. Run on an annual basis by Advanced HE (previously known as the Higher Education Academy), the scheme seeks to celebrate educators from across the UK who demonstrate excellence across a range of categories.
Professor Claire Sharpe, Dean of Medical Education at the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, said:
We are extremely pleased that Dr Russell Hearn has been awarded a prestigious National Teaching Fellowship. His achievements in education span undergraduate and postgraduate medical training and this award is truly deserved. His innovative approach to teaching and focus on the student experience has made him an exciting and effective educator and we are proud he is part of our Faculty at King’s College London.”
– Professor Claire Sharpe