Reflecting on 2025: A Year of Learning, Innovation, and Collaboration
As we begin a new year, it’s a valuable moment to pause and reflect on what the past couple of months have brought. Alongside our day-to-day responsibilities, 2025 has been a busy yet rewarding year for the medical education team—one shaped by creativity, collaboration, and a continued commitment to supporting both learners and colleagues.
One of the highlights of the year was the successful delivery of a Halloween-themed escape room for medical students. This year, the experience expanded into a new two-room format, adding an extra layer of challenge, mystery, and immersion. The enhanced design encouraged even greater teamwork, clinical reasoning, and problem-solving, while maintaining a relaxed and enjoyable learning environment. Student engagement was noticeably boosted, and feedback reinforced the value of using innovative, experiential approaches in medical education.
We were also proud to play a key role in supporting Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) for local prospective medical students. Supporting this important stage of the medical school admissions process for over 40 students required careful planning, coordination, and close teamwork. It was extremely rewarding to contribute to an experience that supports
candidates at such a pivotal stage of their journey, with some fellows describing the process as a true “full circle moment.”
Feedback from students praised the support received, with many reporting increased confidence and preparedness. One student shared: “Thank you so much, this was super helpful. It was very insightful and has structured my future preparation.”
Beyond local delivery, the team attended two key medical education conferences during the year: the South East Undergraduate Medical Education Secondary Care Conference, hosted for the very first time within our own environment at the Maidstone Education Centre, and the 2025 6th DEMEC Conference. These events provided valuable opportunities to engage with colleagues across the sector, explore current challenges within medical education, and gain insight into the future direction of teaching and learning. Discussions around innovation, learner wellbeing, and adapting education to evolving healthcare demands offered both practical ideas and renewed optimism, which we are keen to embed into our
ongoing work.
Wellbeing remained a core focus throughout 2025. We hosted a range of wellbeing events for both students and staff, recognising the importance of creating supportive, psychologically safe spaces within academic and clinical training. Sessions explored key themes such as psychological safety, reflection, and resilience, encouraging open discussion and connection across teams. These initiatives reinforced the importance of balance, compassion, and mutual support within the Trust, and we look forward to building on this work further in the year ahead.
Looking Ahead to the Year Ahead
As we move into the new year, we are keen to build on this momentum. Plans are already underway to deliver a Valentine’s-themed escape room, continuing to use creative, learner centred approaches to enhance engagement with learning.
An exciting development for the coming year is the opportunity to make full use of the new frailty suite. This facility will enable us to further enhance teaching by offering realistic,
hands-on learning experiences that reflect the complexities of caring for older adults, supporting both clinical skills development and holistic patient care.
As we now step back from medical school interview preparation, we look forward to hopefully celebrating the good news of multiple admissions to medical school in the months
ahead.
As always, our work is made possible through collaboration with students, colleagues, and wider teams. We look forward to sharing updates throughout the year as our projects
develop, and to continuing to learn, adapt, and innovate together.
Happy New Year!
