Dr Terence (Terry) Tunny

Position

Senior Lecturer

Qualifications and Awards

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Affiliations

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Associations

ANZAME: Australian and New Zealand Association for Medical and Health Professional Education
School of Biomedical Sciences Education Research Unit, University of Queensland

Contact Details

Biography

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Research Interests

Teaching Physiology in Clinical Context
My previous clinical research interests concentrated on the understanding of Primary and Secondary Hypertension and Endocrine Diseases, including Primary Aldosteronism, Cushing's Syndrome, Phaeochromocytoma, Renovascular Hypertension, and Familial Glaucoma. The group studies were instrumental in delivering improvements in the diagnosis, management, and increased understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of these clinical conditions.

I am currently very involved in educational research studies which will assist in the improved development of clinical reasoning and biomedical sciences teaching to medical students enrolled in the graduate-entry medical program at UQ, the largest in Australia. The problem based learning (PBL) platform has been utilised for a number of years in the many undergraduate medical programs. Considerable debate abounds regarding the most appropriate manner of curriculum delivery in a problem based course. The original PBL model has been modified over the years based on experience and needs to be flexible, and very interactive, and is therefore very dependent on the performance of PBL tutors, both clinicians and non-clinicians. Medical education caters to a broad range of disciplines and stakeholders dedicated to the provision of a varied, and clinically relevant teaching experience for the students.

Primarily, the overall concern is the production of safe effective clinicians who are confident communicators, self-directed learners, and who are superior in their problem solving and clinical reasoning skills, leading to improved diagnostic and management capabilities.

Current areas of interest in educational research include:
- effective problem based learning in clinical case sessions,
- delivery of clinically relevant biomedical science teaching in a problem based learning program,
- evolution and sustainability of PBL as an education learning platform,
- clinically relevant biomedical sciences in the development of clinical reasoning skills in the medical program,
- development of a new holistic student-centred model for student feedback,
- investigation of the value of multi-case scenarios for PBL sessions in the Year 2 medical program,
- student perceptions of the PBL tutor’s facilitation of PBL process, group process, tutor attributes and use of expert knowledge in educational sessions.

Current Research Projects include:
- Does Teaching Physiology in Clinical Context via e-Learning Develop Clinical Reasoning Skills?
- Longitudinal Study of PBL Tutor Performance in a Problem Based Learning Medical Program
- A New Constructive Student Feedback Model
- What do Students Consider as Important Characteristics of Effective PBL Tutors?
- Development of On-line Multiple PBL Case Scenarios for Medical Students

Selected Publications

Conducting the Symphony: a qualitative study of facilitation in problem-based learning tutorials
Medical Education
Tracey Papinczak, Terry Tunny, Louise Young

Curriculum Delivery in a PBL based medical program
Focus on Health Professional Education
Terry Tunny

Rudland, J, Wearn A, Nicol P, Tunny T, Wilkinson T, Owen C, O’Keefe M.
A new model to look at constructive feedback. Proc Australian and New Zealand Medical Education; 2007, 122.

Tunny TJ.
Effective PBL Sessions in a Graduate-Entry Medical Program. Proc Australian and New Zealand Medical Education; 2006, 130.

Tunny TJ, Groves M.
Evolution and sustainability of PBL. Proc Australian and New Zealand Medical Education; 2005:136.

Tunny TJ, Groves M.
Basic Science Teaching and curriculum content in a problem-based learning graduate entry medical course. Proc Australian and New Zealand Medical Education 2004:152.

Grants

Does Teaching Physiology in Clinical Context via eLearning Develop Clinical Reasoning Skills?
Grant Body: UQ T&L Strategic Grant
Grant Period: 2008-2009
Value: $23,000

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