On 14 April 2020 Céline Carrera took up the position of Education Director at EIT Health. Her main focus will be the development of the EIT Health’s education strategy and bringing innovation into education programmes to solve the healthcare needs of tomorrow. Céline has been working in medical education for over 15 years. Before joining EIT Health, Céline worked for the European Society of Cardiology, where she was the Head of Education.

 

What are your key areas of interest and research?


Bringing solid measurement, innovation and collaboration into education is a real passion of mine. Needs assessment, impact measurement, eLearning, shared-decision making and research in medical education are amongst my interests.


In the case of needs assessment in education, looking at the causality of evidenced gaps and needs is particularly important to ensure that we are hitting the mark. There is robust methodology out there using mixed methods that could be more systematically applied, as this leads to more impactful educational interventions. 


When working for the European Society of Cardiology, prior joining EIT Health, I was focusing on medical education (CME, CPD) and in that space I had a keen interest in shared decision making and engaging patients in the training and continuing development of healthcare professionals. Engaging patients and citizens in the educational aspects of health innovation will continue to be a priority for me in my role at EIT Health.


eLearning / distance learning and blended learning are also key as we look at differing needs of learners and the evolution of education delivery. Innovative formats for educational delivery have been on both mine and EIT Health’s radar for some time, and I look forward to building this out even further.


What are the major challenges in your field?


Education in healthcare is essential, however it can be either considered a quick fix, or a quick win, or ‘a soft science.’ We must change mindsets here so that it is considered constant and vital – we all continue to be ‘learners’ every day. To run effective and successful education is a complex endeavour that requires science (learning translation science and psychology for example), resources and time (to measure translation in practice and impact). Combining such with environmental pressures, strategic agendas and priorities, and sustainability can be challenging, but not impossible.


What is your top management tip? 


Never take anything personally and be mindful.


What would you single out as a career highlight?


Bringing about a shift in mindset at the ESC where I worked prior joining EIT Health, with regards to research in medical education. Together with a group of volunteer cardiologists, I was at the inception of a clinical trial in medical education in stroke prevention and management in atrial fibrillation. I am very grateful to have overcome all the hurdles on the way and to have learned so much. This project has impacted the society from its goverance to its operations, including legal, IT, education, registry and other activities. It was very innovative for its time.


If you had not chosen this career path you would have become a…?


As a child I wanted to become a clinician. Life took me on another pathway, not too far from health and healthcare though.


What are your personal interests outside of work?


Sea-swimming all-year round, particuluarly in the winter for the pristine state of the water compared to summer time. Lockdown has been difficult in terms of living by the sea and not being able to immerse even for a few minutes.  


Yoga and meditation made a welcome entry into my life about 15 years ago and there is no going back. 

Learning foreign languages; reading; cooking (goes with learning languages and discovering cultures); gardening. And many more, I will have a busy retirement ahead of me I suppose. J


Your favourite quote?


Well, at present, I have two:


"The master has failed more times than the beginner has tried." Stephen McCranie


“Never let a good crisis go to waste. It's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”




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