About

Throughout my career I have been driven by the belief that everyone deserves excellent healthcare and that pain relief is an unequivocal human right. My personal experiences of structural barriers and discrimination continue to inspire my drive for equity in medicine and health for all. I aim to work towards improving circumstances for those experiencing poverty, discrimination, neglected illness, and other structural disadvantages. With this motivation, I have dedicated myself to excellence in clinical medicine, research and scholarship, public and population health, leadership, and medical education, underlined by a consistent focus on equity and justice.

Clinical Medicne

Clinical medicine

I have overcome significant barriers in becoming a doctor (having been told at my socially disadvantaged state-funded high school that ‘people from this school do not become doctors’). I gained entry to my first choice of medical school, the University of Aberdeen (an ancient and prestigious medical school, established 1495) at the age of 17, based on my academic abilities, personal suitability to medicine, and determination. In undertaking UK medical training, which is known internationally for its high standards, I have been consistently high performing, succeeding in my undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, and progression in postgraduate medical training, while excelling at every examination and measure of competence at first attempt, and obtaining prizes and competitive scholarships during this time. My rigorous training in clinical medicine and academic medicine has principally been from the medical schools of the University of Aberdeen and University of Edinburgh, consistently rated as two of the best UK medical schools, e.g. ranked as the top two UK medical schools in the Guardian 2022 league tables.

During my medical degree I also took the initiative to explore additional opportunities to increase my insight and experience working with vulnerable and often neglected groups, including having the privilege of doing voluntary work with adults with intellectual disability, and using a summer vacation period to spend time in a Scottish children's hospice, and another to gain basic competence in British Sign Language so that I could communicate with Deaf patients.

In my practice as a General Internal Medicine physician and as a Palliative Medicine physician, I have had the privilege of serving some of the most socio-economically disadvantaged communities in the UK, and have significant experience working across the public sector and charity funded healthcare sector, in-patient and community settings, and rural and inner-city locations. My patients have been and remain my wisest and most generous teachers.

Research

Research and scholarship

I have broad research skills, including proficiency in both quantitative and qualitative methods, developed through varied research experience and academic posts in the UK and Canada. I have conducted research in collaboration with institutions in the UK (including the British Medical Association) and internationally (including Dalhousie University, Canada, and Chulalongkorn University, Thailand). I was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) (postgraduate UK research doctorate) by Edinburgh medical school in 2020 through a successful period of dedicated research. I continue to publish results of my empirical research and publish on research methodologies.

I have presented my work to many regional, national, and international academic audiences. My commitment to facilitating high quality, ethical, and ground-breaking medical research has led me to be an active academic peer reviewer, and a member of the funding panel for the international Patient Led Research Collaborative for Covid-19.

My current research interests include health of and care for structurally vulnerable groups including people experiencing homelessness and people experiencing incarceration; trauma informed approaches to care; racial trauma including racial trauma in healthcare; healthcare in prisons and criminal justice reform; palliative and end of life care in global and humanitarian settings; Covid-19 and post-Covid illness.

Public and Populain Health

Public and population health

I am passionate about working towards improved health, not only at the level of individual disease, but also vitally identifying social determinants of health, and counter-acting the negative influences of social and systemic barriers (including racism and poverty) on illness and patient care. I strongly wish to improve healthcare for structurally vulnerable, under-served, and/or stigmatised patient groups, and currently serve as a member and co-chair of the ‘Attitudes and Education’ working group for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for the UK government Department of Health and Social Care. I am also developing quality improvement and research projects focused on health of systemically disadvantaged groups including those experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty, and those who are experiencing incarceration or have contact with the criminal justice system. I am a member of national professional Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes networks for homeless health and prison health.

My passion for improving public and population health has also led me to: participate in the Choose Life campaign which promoted suicide prevention through performance and school workshops; be awarded the NHS Grampian “Granite Award for Thoughtful Alcohol Awareness” for my work to educate school children about safe alcohol use. I have also taken the initiative to seek opportunities to enhance my knowledge of the field, including by organising a placement in the Public Health Medicine department, NHS Fife health board, UK.

Additionally, I am passionate about promoting issues of vital importance to healthcare in the Covid-19 pandemic, including adequate workplace protection for healthcare staff, and the risks of chronic illness following Covid-19. I have used both media engagement and professional fora to promote these crucial public health issues.

Medical leadeship

Leadership

I demonstrate excellent leadership in all endeavours and have a strong record of task and project development, management, and completion. For example, in my clinical roles I have led teams to collaborate and adapt to deliver high quality care in response to emergent medical problems, as the lead of the Medical Emergency Team in large urban hospitals; have been the sole doctor overnight with responsibility for a remote and rural Accident and Emergency department. In my academic roles I have designed and planned my own programme of research and managed every aspect of it until successful completion over a period of years.

I have the vision and dedication to drive improved safety and quality in patient care and promote the welfare of doctors and other healthcare workers. This includes having escalated concerns over organisation of clinical care at a regional level, in a constructive way, to lead to positive change.

Additionally, I have held several (often competitively achieved) formal leadership positions, including at a national level. This includes having ensured that the voices of trainee doctors were heard in the development and organization of a new UK postgraduate medical training curriculum, as a member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) Specialty Advisory Committee for Palliative Medicine. As described above, I currently co-chair a UK government committee which informs and steers a UK health and social care delivery plan.

I am passionate about the rights of doctors and other healthcare workers, including adequate workplace protections. I have taken leadership in elevating issues of healthcare worker welfare to the British Medical Association, the UK medical Royal Colleges, the UK Government, and the Scottish Government.

In my leadership I respect and value the individual strengths and experiences of all, and aim to inspire healthy and constructive questioning of the status quo within established systems, and to see transformational growth.

Medical Educaton

Medical education

I have an extensive portfolio in medical education, including undergraduate teaching, postgraduate teaching, faculty development, workshops for high school students, and being an invited visiting lecturer to national and international institutions, including the University of Toronto, Canada, and the Islamic University of Gaza, Palestine. I have co-organised medical education faculty development 'Summer schools' which were held in India and Poland.

My skills and experience in teaching led me to be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Education with Distinction, Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, and Membership of the Academy of Medical Educators. I remain committed to widening participation in medicine and fair access to opportunities for all.

Goals

I look forward to opportunities to further develop my skills in public health, and equity and justice in medicine. I am aware of the often intersecting and overlapping influences of poverty, race and racism, and other structural barriers including homelessness, vulnerable housing, and incarceration, and wish to continue to contribute to trauma-informed care for people who have experienced significant adversity. I would thrive in a role where I can use my initiative, creativity, commitment, and tenacity to develop improved access and outcomes for disadvantaged, marginalised, and/or vulnerable patient groups. I am exploring such opportunities across settings and cultural contexts, including Low- and Middle-Income Countries.