Susan Rhind

Today for example has been a mixture of marking first year exam scripts, attending a long meeting about setting up a new assessment system to support our OSCE assessments, meeting a group of clients who are helping with the training of our students in communication skills and preparing a presentation for a conference in America in a couple of week’s time. A student needing some help is also on his way shortly. E-mail and calls also take up a lot of time and whilst it can be a distraction from other tasks, I believe that in a role like mine it’s important that people feel they can get a reasonably prompt response. My role on various external groups and committees means I also get to travel a fair bit – mostly to London but also other Universities nationally and internationally.  I love being part of an international network of veterinary educators – we are really a small community and one that is incredibly supportive.

How did you get to where you are today and how did you land your current role? (obligatory question)

None of what has happened to me was in any way planned other than I thought in final year at vet school I would like to return to do a PhD but only after a period in practice first. I felt it would have been a waste not to put into practice all the James Heriot skills I had learned and I spent 3 years in general practice doing just that before coming to Edinburgh to do a PhD in immunology based at Summerhall. It feels a long time ago now… I was lucky enough to secure a junior lectureship in the Veterinary Pathology department immediately after that and effectively have never left since then! Although my initial focus was on training to pass pathology speciality exams and research interests were in pathology (I did work on cloning and immunopathogenesis of various infectious diseases), over time I realised my main interests were in teaching, students and in particular educational research.  This allowed me to move into the role of Director of Teaching which in hindsight I was totally unprepared for! I quickly realised that the passion some colleagues felt for teaching could translate into some tough talking and hard to read e-mails when curriculum review was the topic of discussion. I stuck with it and was fortunate enough to have a great group of colleagues nationally and internationally also keen on driving forward the veterinary education agenda – when times got tough locally, this group were always a good sounding board as typically they were experiencing the same sorts of leadership challenges as I was in their own context. Now I am older (although not necessarily wiser – let’s call it ‘battle-scarred’) I have learned that it is better to have people who care about their teaching but disagree with you, than to have people disinterested. It then becomes more of a fun challenge to think how to harness the energy and enthusiasm as part of a team approach. Aligned to my new research interest I was then lucky enough to have the support to build a team of colleagues and establish the Veterinary Medical Education Division as a group with teaching and educational development as its main focus. These types of groups were becoming common in medical education but were yet to be an established feature of most veterinary schools although that is now slowly changing.  In summary, I’d say I didn’t really ‘land’ my current role but have spent years developing and shaping it – and have been lucky enough to be allowed to do so.

How did you learn to embrace risk-taking?

I remember a long time ago now I read with a  colleague the book ‘Feel the Fear and do it anyway’ – it’s been a good mantra for someone like me -  who by nature is on the introvert end of the spectrum and would never have believed I’d end up a lecturer never mind in senior management. I often tell students when they come to me for career or other advice that there is no such things as a wrong decision – if it feels right at the time and you’re doing it for the best of reasons then it probably is the right thing to do. And if by chance it isn’t then there’s a lot of learning that can come from the experience too.

Tell me about a recent career setback. How did you recover?

I recently spent 3 and a half years as an Assistant Principal for the University focusing on assessment and feedback. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a setback as it was immensely interesting and great to get an insight into the workings of such a large institution. However in retrospect it was a mistake to take that role on whilst still being Director of Teaching in the school and head of division. It had negative effects on my own wellbeing and research so I will be more realistic in future about what is practical and sensible.

What do you wish you had known before taking your first clinical/ academic/ teaching /management or support role?

The value of a quick blether rather than an e-mail should never be underestimated!

Which career skills were the most difficult to develop?

For me learning not to take things personally when colleagues get upset or disagree with decisions that need to be made. I am much better at that now than I was when I started in a leadership role all those years ago.

My final reflection is that a good sense of humour is essential – I’ve lost count of the number of times that a good giggle has really helped keep things in perspective; I’m lucky enough to have some fantastic colleagues who are always willing to listen, laugh and provide chocolate as required!