Rate My Professor Ciara Lee

Dr. Ciara Lee is a dedicated medical educator and researcher in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience from Trinity College Dublin (2004-2008) and an MB BCh BAO in Medicine from Queen's University Belfast (2008-2013). She completed her PhD at the University of Otago, supported by a University of Otago Doctoral Scholarship, focusing on how medical students recognise and respond to uncertainty in their learning environments. Currently, Dr. Lee is a Senior Professional Practice Fellow in the Department of General Practice and Rural Health, Dunedin School of Medicine. She also holds leadership roles as Associate Dean Academic Progress and Associate Dean Student Affairs (ALM) in the Faculty of Medicine, Dunedin campus, overseeing student support and academic progression.

Dr. Lee's research specializations encompass medical education, including uncertainty management among medical students, self-efficacy for prescribing insulin, the hidden curriculum's effects on teaching, and constructing productive supervisory relationships. Her key publications include "Towards a new understanding of uncertainty in medical education" (Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2021), "Medical students’ responses to uncertainty: a cross-sectional study using a new self-efficacy questionnaire in Aotearoa New Zealand" (BMJ Open, 2023), "Finding Themselves, Their Place, Their Way: Uncertainties Identified by Medical Students" (Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 2023), "How do new doctors prescribe insulin? Qualitative exploration of the complexity of everyday practice and implications for medical education" (BMJ Open, 2025), "Readiness to prescribe: Using educational design to untie the Gordian Knot" (Medical Teacher, 2020), "Situation, Me, Act, and Check (SMAC): A toolkit that helps students learn to Act Wisely in practice" (Clinical Teacher, 2022), and "Advice for Constructing a Productive Supervisory Relationship in Education Research" (2022). These works contribute to advancing pedagogical strategies in health professions education.