Clinical Neurological Sciences (CNS)

Academic Appointment

Associate Professor, Departments of Clinical Neurological Sciences and Oncology, University of Western Ontario

Publications

PubMed Publication Listing

Bio Sketch

Dr. Watling obtained his MD (cum laude) from Dalhousie University in Halifax in 1990. He completed residency training in neurology at the University of Western Ontario in 1995 and fellowship training in Pain and Symptom Management at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston in 1996.  In 2009, he completed a Master of Medical Education degree through the University of Dundee with a research thesis entitled "Rules of Engagement: An Exploration of Resident and Faculty Perceptions of the Resident In-Training Evaluation Process"

Dr. Watling joined the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at London Health Sciences Centre in 2000 after four years in general neurologic practice in Sudbury, Ontario. The move to London was motivated primarily by a desire to become more involved in medical education. Since that time, Dr. Watling has participated as an enthusiastic teacher at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional development levels. His teaching has earned him a number of awards, including the Schulich Educator Award for graduate/postgraduate education in 2006, and he has appeared repeatedly on the University Students' Council Teaching Honour Roll. He has been the Program Director for the UWO neurology residency program since 2004.

Research

Dr. Watling's main research interest is the area of learner assessment, with a focus on employing qualitative research approaches to exploring key issues and challenges in the assessment domain. Dr. Watling has worked with a collaborative group of faculty members at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry on a series of projects exploring the experiences and perceptions of residents and faculty of the in-training evaluation process. The goal of these exploratory studies is to better understand why the process of resident evaluations succeeds or fails, in order that informed recommendations about improving the process can be made.

Dr. Watling's other interest has been in curriculum development and program evaluation. For example, he developed a curriculum in communication skills teaching for neurology residents that consisted of a series of six workshops, each focused on a different scenario where communication with patients and families is of utmost importance. Workshops featured video triggers, facilitated discussion, and experiential learning, and residents were encouraged to extend their learning by keeping reflective portfolios of real-life communication challenges. The development and evaluation of this curriculum was published in 2007 in Neurology. Dr. Watling has subsequently developed, along with Dr. Valerie Schulz from the Department of Anesthesia, a faculty development workshop on teaching communication skills for Schulich faculty.

A further example of his efforts at curriculum innovation is the recent application of the team-based learning format to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Together with his colleague Dr. Shannon Venance, Dr. Watling developed a team-based learning module on the approach to sensory symptoms that was delivered to second-year medical students in April, 2008 as part of their neuroscience block. Subsequently, two team-based learning sessions in bioethics, covering conflict of interest and research ethics, were developed and delivered to an audience of residents from several specialties in September 2008. An analysis of learner feedback from these sessions is underway, and methods to evaluate the quality and durability of learning using this approach are being developed.