Centre for Improvement of Teacher Competencies and Communication Skills

Head:

• Assoc. Prof. Nina Pereza, MD, PhD (acting head)
  • E-mail: nina.pereza@medri.uniri.hr
  • Phone: +385 51 651 234

The Centre for Improvement of Teacher Competencies and Communication Skills was established in 2017 by Prof. Jasenka Mršić-Pelčić as a separate organisational unit of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. Its founding was a response to the growing trends and the need for organised and systematic high-quality professional support for improvement of teacher competencies in medical education.

The aim of the Centre is to provide continuous professional support in acquiring and developing teacher competencies to higher education teachers of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka, especially in the field of medical education and traditional and advanced teaching methods. The Centre’s activities are focused on on improving the quality of teaching and are in line with the quality control of teaching. This aim is achieved through five basic activities, including training, organisation of scientific and professional meetings, publishing activity, peer review and scientific research.

The Centre is led by the head, who reports to the dean of the Faculty, who proposes appointment of members , i.e., teachers of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka and external associates who deliver continuous professional, methodological and pedagogical teacher education. The Centre encompasses experts from various biomedical and related fields with the aim of promoting excellence and professional criteria in medical education. The Centre’s activities are executed by carefully selected preclinical and clinical teachers who have completed various types of medical education training and have experience in the development and improvement of medical education in Rijeka and the Republic of Croatia. A large number of teachers are awarded numerous Faculty, University and state recognitions and awards for their contribution to improvement of the quality of medical teaching and teaching excellence.

Virtual tour of the Centre for Improvement of Teacher Competencies and Communication Skills: 

• Activities in the academic year 2022/2023

The Centre’s educational activities aimed at improving teacher competencies cover several basic areas, including learning and teaching methodology in medical education, e-learning implementation, improving teacher competencies in English, clinical simulation and clinical skills and clinical judgment. In accordance with real needs and adjustments to changes in the education system and medical education trends, the educational activities organised by the Centre are regularly complemented, with great qualitative and quantitative changes made in 2022.

Educational activities are realized by starting and accrediting lifelong education programs in the field of medical training and organizing and conducting lectures, workshops and schools that contribute to the professional development of teachers. Considering the extensiveness of the description, all detailed information about individual forms of education are available on their own official websites.

• Onsite course English as a Medium of Instruction in Higher Medical Education

(coordinators: Prof. Branka Drljača Margić, PhD, Prof. Irena Vodopija-Krstanović, PhD)

• Online course Simulation-Based Medical Teaching

(coordinators: Asst. Prof. Janja Tarčuković, MD, PhD, Prof. Sanja Kupešić, MD, PhD)

• 3I Medical Education School

(coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Nina Pereza, MD, PhD)

• Onsite course Basics of Merlin E-Learning Platform

(coordinator: Asst. Prof. Maja Gligora Marković, PhD)

To improve teacher competencies and communication skills in class aided by information and communications technology, especially in a virtual environment, we organised a course covering the basics of working in the Merlin e-learning platform (beginner and advanced) and a course on designing questions and tests in Merlin. These courses focus on the basic functionalities of the Merlin online teaching platform, such as content delivery, webinars, and communication of all participants in the teaching process in a virtual environment and assessment of knowledge. The courses last from 5 to 15 teaching hours. The courses take place in the Informatics Lecture Room of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka, and the schedules are adjusted for teachers of preclinical and clinical courses depending on their interest.

• Lifelong learning programme Acquisition and Improvement of Teacher Competencies for Medical Educators

(coordinator: Prof. Gordana Župan, MD, PhD)

In cooperation with the Croatian Association for Medical Education and at the initiative of the Centre, the course accredited as Acquisition and Improvement of Teacher Competencies for Medical Educators was active from 2017 to 2019.. It was attended by teachers and associates of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. A description of the programme can be found on the Centre’s website.
Associates: Prof. Gordana Župan, MD, PhD, Prof. Mladenka Vrcić-Keglević, PhD, Prof. Gordana Pavleković, PhD, Prof. Milan Taradi, Prof. Jadranka Varljen, PhD, Prof. Jasenka Mršić-Pelčić, MD, PhD, Prof. Maja Abram, MD, PhD, Prof. Srđan Banac, MD, PhD, Prof. Renata Gržić, DMD, PhD, Prof. Sonja Pezelj-Ribarić, DMD, PhD, Asst. Prof. Danko Bakarčić, DMD, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Sanja Smojver Ažić, PhD, Asst. Prof. Siniša Kušić, PhD, Prof. Svjetlana Kolić-Vehovec, PhD 

• Onsite course Preparatory English Course for Teachers

 (coordinator: Dunja Zoričić, M.Ed.)

The course Preparatory English Course for Teachers is designed to support and prepare teachers for conducting classes at the study of Medicine in English at the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka. The course focuses on improving English speaking and writing skills and briefly covers relevant spelling and grammar rules as well as features of English writing academic style.

• International conference MedRi 2023 – First International Conference on Teaching and Learning in Medical Education with First International Student Symposium on Future Doctors Educating the World
• Medical Education Symposium: Innovative Learning Methods

• MedRi 2023 – First International Conference on Teaching and Learning in Medical Education with First International Student Symposium on Future Doctors Educating the World – Book of abstracts
• Challenges and Future of Medical Education in the Republic of Croatia

The aim of peer review in higher education is to improve the quality of the teaching process based on feedback from other teachers. The procedure is described in detail in the Quality Assurance Manual of the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka from 2022.

Associates: Prof. Jasenka Mršić-Pelčić, MD, PhD, Prof. Maja Abram, MD, PhD, Prof. Saša Ostojić, MD, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Gordana Pelčić, MD, PhD, Prof. Renata Gržić, DMD, PhD, Prof. Sonja Pezelj-Ribarić, DMD, PhD, Prof. Danko Bakarčić, DMD, PhD, Assoc. Prof. Nina Pereza, MD, PhD

• Lifelong learning programme Practical Science for the Health Profession 

(coordinator: Assoc. Prof. Nina Pereza, MD, PhD)

The lifelong learning programme Practical Science for the Health Profession is intended for health professionals who have completed an integrated undergraduate and graduate university study or graduate study at a higher education institution that conducts study programmes for the health profession related to the processes of diagnosis and treatment. The programme consists of four courses, including Types of Scientific Papers and Their Components, The Art of Active Participation in Scientific Conferences, How to Write a Good Case Report and Fundamentals of Biostatistics. It is implemented exclusively through active learning methods, including problem-based and project-oriented learning, with an individual approach to participants with the aim of developing their basic competencies for independent implementation of scientific methodology in biomedicine and health.
Associates: Prof. Saša Ostojić, MD, PhD, Dunja Zoričić, M.Ed., Evgenia Arh, MA

• Student Section of the Centre for Improvement of Teacher Competencies and Communication Skills 

The Student Section of the Centre for the Improvement of Teacher Competencies and Communication Skills was established in 2019 to promote the importance of medical education, communication skills and scientific literacy in students of various studies in the field of biomedicine and health. Once a year, the Student Section organises workshops titled How to Write a Good Case Report and Master the Art of Congress without Stress in cooperation with the Student Section of the scientific and professional journal Medicina Fluminensis. These workshops enable the acquisition of knowledge, skills and attitudes from specific areas of scientific methodology. They significantly contribute to the popularisation of scientific activities and scientific thinking among students. Moreover, the importance of these workshops for the Faculty of Medicine in Rijeka is proven by the Croatian National Science Award for Popularisation and Promotion of Science they received in 2020 for the mentioned activities.
Associates: Assoc. Prof. Nina Pereza, MD, PhD, Prof. Saša Ostojić, MD, PhD, Dunja Zoričić, M.Ed., Evgenia Arh, MA