About my work

My curiosity about medical education was first sparked when I was a medical student. To support myself I took a part-time job as an anatomy tutor and discovered interest and enjoyment in education. But besides anatomy, my own undergraduate training was rather uninspiring: a lecture-based model with little interaction with the real life of clinical practice.

I decided to focus on my clinical training, coming to the UK as a junior doctor in 2004. As a doctor, I was looking to make a difference to individuals but also to their families and wider communities, looking for longer-term impact. I chose to become a GP, working across multiple practices in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege to connect with several exceptional mentors and trainers who encouraged me to engage actively in workplace-based education of GP trainees, independent prescribers and medical students. These interactions revived my passion for medical education.

Teaching undergraduate medical students in our GP practice was an eye opener for me. In contrast to my own undergraduate experience, the collaborative, enquiry-based teaching and learning environment in the UK captured my enthusiasm and I am very happy to find myself now in a teaching-focused role on the Warwick MBChB.

I am deeply concerned that burnout, depression and anxiety are rising among NHS junior doctors of the 21st century - and many graduates are leaving the NHS.

Helping to address burnout among medical students

Having experienced burnout myself in 2017, with many of its devastating consequences, I am deeply concerned that burnout, depression and anxiety are rising among NHS junior doctors of the 21st century, and many graduates are leaving the NHS.

I'm delighted to be part of a team delivering medical education that goes beyond purely academic and clinical objectives: we want students to maintain and cultivate the passion that motivated them to study medicine in the first place and acquire the skills to address burnout.

What winning WATE's SEM Faculty Award meant to me

I strongly feel that the award is a recognition of the quality of education delivered on the MBChB as a whole. It provides a culture and work environment that encourages initiative and collaboration, and has lead to a large number of excellent initiatives by numerous teams and individuals – and I feel fortunate to have been honoured for one of those in 2023.

It's also been really fun to celebrate our students’ graduation together with them and receive an award together with a cohort who I have got to know throughout the challenging time of the pandemic.

Focusing on belonging and community

A sense of belonging and community supports student wellbeing and reduces isolation. This is especially relevant during the introductory module to Year 3, as both before and afterwards students spend several months away from the Medical School, in small group NHS trust-based placements or individual research projects.

We arranged wellbeing activities as part of the module, supported by students from the previous year, e.g. e-sports sessions and free pizza, to enhance peer relationships and wellbeing. Members of staff, external guests and students from the previous year also joined the module themselves, sharing their experience with the younger cohort and offering practical and emotional support. One student commented that "…this has created an overall positive ambience at the medical school every time we were around, creating an environment with a sense of social inclusion."

My favourite thing about working at Warwick

My favourite thing about working at Warwick, without doubt, is the MBChB team and culture. I enjoy working in a community with a vision, built on the values of ‘The Warwick Doctor’ that seeks to value and include all, and I am glad that this outstanding community as a whole has been recognised by the 2023 WATE awards.