10 May 2023

The Consultant Transplant and Vascular Access Surgeon describes the benefits of working in partnership, and to stay humble and have great mentors. 

What is your role within King’s Health Partners? 

I am one of the directors of the KHP Executive Fellowship in Surgical Leadership. In addition to clinical duties, I undertake research in crisis management, human performance and teach emergency surgical skills. I’m basically interested in one big question - what do you do when things go badly wrong? 

What do you enjoy most about your role? 

The highlight of my work is putting highly talented surgeons in contact with innovators and real-world leaders, helping us provide more effective and safer patient care to our community.  

What inspired you to get into this work? 

Surgery is about having excellent skills, attention to detail and a genuine interest in helping patients and their families. However, the complexity of healthcare delivery means it is not enough to simply be a great technician. You also need good systems and individuals with executive skills. Surgeons need to be good innovators, risk managers, adaptive leaders, collaborative decision-makers, negotiators and conflict mitigators. Not least, we have to be good colleagues. These complex tasks need to come together seamlessly in order to provide the best quality care for our patients.  

At KHP we are extremely fortunate to work with experts that share a culture of excellence and can provide all of these technical and non-technical skills. My role is to simply bring people together in order to facilitate some very exciting collaborations and social learning.  

What are the benefits of working in partnership? 

A ship is only as good as its crew. Here, you meet new and interesting people everyday - talented administrative staff, engineers, researchers, porters, lab technicians or inventors. Working in a partnership allows people to be part of the bigger picture of healthcare improvement. This creates a great sense of purpose and pride. In turn, it allows individuals to grow and make good things happen - whether through policy-based research or a new medical device. This is what makes KHP a hive of innovation.  

What’s next? 

Our aim is to expand training opportunities in leadership and crisis management across healthcare sectors. A lot of healthcare delivery happens outside hospitals and it is important we include those colleague as well. We all share the same clear purpose - to provide dignity and alleviate suffering. It’s important not to forget that. You have to stay grounded. 

What would be your one career top tip? 

Learn all the time - be honest with yourself, stay humble and have great mentors. There will always be people better than you - you have to see them as teachers, not as competitors. 

For more information about KHP Academic Surgery, visit its website here.