RickInOz

It would be nice to think we are motivated entirely by altruistic intentions, but in reality our lives are governed by reciprocity.

Recently, I volunteered to tutor medical students from the University of Adelaide. Once a week we have an hour-long session to gently introduce them to real patients. This is their first exposure to clinical areas and the university feel they will be more relaxed with a trainee than with a consultant.

I’m a keen advocate of the teaching ethos and feel that medicine is still a craft that should be passed on rather than read from a book. It is impossible to describe in writing some of the little tricks of the trade that experienced doctors use. While this is strong motive to offer my services there is a valuable incentive for tutors.

Firstly we get to add the title “Associate Clinical Lecturer” to our CVs. This is a slightly woolly title, but being allied with a distinguished university is attractive to future employers. Secondly becoming a university staff member allows access to full library services. This means getting a free copy of Endnote, a software package assisting the composition of research articles that normally retails for about $250. It also grants fulltext access to a number of influential journals such as:

To get access to all of these independently would utterly bankrupt me, so having access to them through the university’s existing subscription is extremely useful. This arrangement is mutually beneficial - the university get a tutor without having to pay a salary, and I get significant enticement and financial savings. All in all, the best kind of back scratching!