Dr Richard Ayres

My teaching and research interests are in Clinical Education and in particular in population health and health inequalities.I also have an interest in the place and role of the humanities in clinical education. I am lead for Population Health for Plymouth Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry and a practicing GP in Adelaide St surgery in Stonehouse, Plymouth. My research interests are around in Health Inequalities and anything concerning the importance of "place" in human health.

Qualifications

MB ChB, MD, MMed (Dist), FHEA, MRCP, MRCGP

I have had a pretty eclectic career in medicine. Having completed a very traditional medical course at the University of Edinburgh and then trained in general practice, I went to Uganda, East Africa and spent 8 years doing everything from general medicine and surgery to setting up comprehensive primary health care. I then set up a Leprosy control programme for the West Nile district that brought care and rehabilitation to nearly 10,000 patients. Throughout this time I was involved in education at all levels from village health workers to doctors and became interested in how best to teach the wide range of knowledge, skills and attitudes needed - and indeed in what the role of health professionals was in a very different cultural context. Having returned to UK, I worked back in primary care but then branched into hospital medicine(oncology) after a stint in management as Medical Director of a Community Care Trust. I completed an higher degree (MD) at the University of Edinburgh, based on my primary care research into access to GPs for marginalized groups (including teenagers). I was Undergraduate tutor for North Devon, arranging student attachments in both primary and secondary care for medical students (at that time mostly from the University of Bristol). I developed a web-based system that was used by students to choose and tailor their educational experience and this became the basis for my Masters thesis for the University of Dundee M Med programme. I then moved to Plymouth to join the new Peninsula Medical School and also to work as medical adviser to a government funded community development project based in Devonport - one of the most deprived communities in The S West. At the University of Plymouth medical school I have worked in both graduate and undergraduate education. Currently I am lead for Population Health, a broad theme across all 5 years of the curriculum taught via plenaries, workshops, SSU's and a variety of community placements.

Clinically I work as a GP in Stonehouse, in the highest deprivation ward in the city. Adelaide St surgery where I work has a long history of social engagement and now runs the outreach service to the homeless in the city. We provide clinical placements for a great many medical and other healthcare students and are involved in a number of research projects.

Professional membership

BMA, RCGP, RCP, AMEE, ASME

Roles on external bodies

External Examining, Peer Review

Teaching interests

Population Health, Health Inequalities, Medical Humanities, Clinical Education

Research interests

Community Development, Health Inequalities, Medical Humanities, Exercise and Health, Primary/Secondary Care interface