Annual Conference 2022: Diversity and Resilience in Primary Care

We had a great time at our annual conference on 5th March! We were lucky to have a wide range of talks on various subjects from prison medicine to minor ops to life as an academic GP. Thank you very much to all who attended, our amazing speakers, and those who submitted some fantastic posters for our student research competition. We hope you enjoyed it and took something interesting away with you - we certainly had fun hosting it!

Annual Conference 2021: Power and Responsibility in Medicine

Sunday 7th March 2021
Our annual conference, this year on the theme of Power and Responsibility in Medicine, explored how how medicine shapes and is shaped by issues such as inequality, politics and climate disaster. We had a range of talks and workshops by exciting speakers, as well as a poster competition and presentation of the GP Awards.

Keynote Speaker 1: Dr Rachel Clarke

Before going to medical school, Dr Rachel Clarke was a television journalist and documentary maker. She now specialises in palliative medicine, caring deeply about helping patients live the end of their lives as fully and richly as possible – and in the power of human stories to build empathy and inspire change.

In addition, Dr Clarke is the author of three Sunday Times bestselling books. Your Life in My Hands revealed what life is like for a junior doctor on the NHS frontline. Dear Life is based on her work in a hospice and explores love, loss, grief, dying and what really matters at the end of life. Breathtaking, just published, reveals what life was really like inside the NHS during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

​In her talk, Dr Clarke will explore our role as our patients' advocates, asking whether this should include speaking out about politics, public health and the NHS when we fear policy may affect our patients detrimentally. Arguably, politics and a publicly-funded NHS are inextricably linked at all times - but the past year of pandemic medicine has made those connections ever more important.

Keynote Speaker 2: Professor Martin Marshall

Professor Martin Marshall is a GP in Newham, East London, and the current Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). In addition, he is Professor of Healthcare Improvement at University College London. He leads Improvement Science London, an initiative to promote the science of improvement across the health service and academic sectors. Prof. Marshall has published over 200 papers in the field of quality of care.

Professor Marshall will be discussing the important role of GPs in the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Keynote Speaker 3: Dr David Nicholl

Dr David Nicholl is a Consultant Neurologist at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham. His extensive research into Parkinson’s disease has included the identification of one of its most common genetic forms. Dr Nicholl is an advocate for human rights, and initiated a letter in the Lancet to close down the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay. In 2019, he blew the whistle on fears amongst medics of a no-deal Brexit.

Dr Nicholl will be speaking about fake news and healthcare, with a spotlight on Brexit and pandemics.

Workshop 1: Dr Gary Howsam

Dr Gary Howsam is a GP at the Octagon Medical Practice in Peterborough, and the current Vice-Chair for external affairs of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). He also holds a number of senior leadership and management positions, including Vice Chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) Board and Vice Chair of the Peterborough Health and Wellbeing Board.

Dr Howsam will be speaking about the importance of good leadership within the medical profession.

Workshop 2: Dr James Smith

Dr James Smith is a GP currently practising at Trumpington Street Medical Practice. He is also a Public Health doctor, and teaches Public Health to medical students at the University of Cambridge. Dr Smith is passionate about addressing climate change and sustainability issues, and writes about these topics in his blog, drjnsmith.com, as well as publishing several academic journal articles.

Workshop 3: Edward Lau

Edward Lau is a current 5th year medical student at the University of Cambridge with an intercalation in Pharmacology. He is the current GPSoc Education Lead and is interested in qualitative research and innovative medical education methods, particularly focusing on peer-to-peer teaching and encouraging learners to take on the responsibility of their own education.

Ed will be speaking about the importance of self-empowerment within medical education.