I qualified in Medicine in 1993 from Southampton University, initially pursuing a career in Oncology but soon realising that I was drawn to the patients who were not getting better. Via the MRCGP route, I found my passion in Palliative Medicine and completed consultant training in 2009.
I took a three-year break following this to support the family, as my husband pursued ministry training at a theological college in Cambridge. Whilst there, I joined forces with one of the theology tutors to write ‘Care for the dying’ published by Canterbury Press; a practical and pastoral guide.
I have been a consultant in palliative medicine at St Luke’s in Plymouth since 2016 and have worked across all three settings; hospital, hospice and community.
I am Lead for Communication Skills and an Honorary Fellow at Plymouth medical school. I am an Academic Tutor for 4th year medical students and actively involved in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. My passions are to promote the importance of good communication as a core skill of all healthcare professionals and also to share generic and specialist knowledge of palliative care.
The UK is seen to be the best place in the world to die but yet we have much to learn. I also believe that in modern western medicine, we have lost something of the essence of what we do and I would like to re-ignite that.
I have a long-held passion to share my knowledge of palliative care with others in countries who have had less exposure to the symptom control we know helps, but equally to have reciprocal learning of what we are missing.
I am a network member of PRiME, an international network of professional healthcare educators, committed to integrating rigorous science and compassionate care for the whole person.
