Rate My Professor Vetri Thirthar Palanivelu

Dr. Vetri Thirthar Palanivelu serves as Adjunct Clinical Senior Lecturer at Curtin Medical School within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University, associated with the Office of the Provost and the Discipline of Medicine. He is based in Building 410 on the Curtin Perth campus. In his teaching role, he acted as Unit Coordinator for the GMED2008 Medicine 2 course until April 3, 2022.

Dr. Palanivelu's research contributions include co-authorship of the 2024 peer-reviewed paper 'How simulated learning can support a more diverse inclusive society,' published in the ASCILITE 2024 Conference Proceedings. This pilot study examined interactive online simulations in an interprofessional education activity for medical (MBBS) and pharmacy (BPharm Hons) students. Four urinary tract infection scenarios, two involving transgender patients, were utilized to support disciplinary knowledge, care for diverse patients, and development of professional attitudes. Evaluation via pre- and post-activity questionnaires with 26 participants (18 females, 8 males; ages 18-36) showed significant improvements: self-reported knowledge, skills, and confidence in UTI management (all p<0.001); competence in caring for transgender patients (mean 2.21 to 2.74, p=0.001); and awareness of transgender health needs (3.74 to 4.42, p=0.028). Keywords include simulation-based education, diversity, and health professional education. The work demonstrates simulation-gaming platforms' potential for sustainable interprofessional education promoting inclusivity.

Additionally, he presented the poster 'Meeting the needs of postgraduate pharmacists - developing an andragogical environment for teaching Quality Improvement in Practice' at the Pharmacy Education Symposium 2024. The redesigned module applied Knowles’ principles of andragogy, featuring activities, peer review, and feedback for participants' quality improvement projects. Post-module feedback eight months later indicated gains in confidence, leadership, time management, team building, influencing human behavior, and providing evidence for improvements. He also participated in the Curtin HIVE Intern Showcase 2024, collaborating across disciplines.