50 at 50: Reflections on directing the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme and being a Welsh sheepdog during the pandemic

On September 30th 2020, I stepped down as the Director of the NIHR HTA Programme after five very busy years. To set the scene, The NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme sits within the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)  – the UK’s largest funder of health and social care research funded by the UK Government. HTA is the largest NIHR Programme and in 2018/19, it supported 584 live projects …

50 at 50: The First Year of Graduate Entry Medicine

I was delighted to be asked to do this blog to reflect on my time as a student at the University of Nottingham and talk about coming back to the University as a member of staff.   I started at Nottingham University back in 2003. I still find it hard to believe that this was 17 years ago! This was the first year of the Graduate Entry Medical (GEM) course, the first 18 …

50 at 50: Students responding to 999 calls in Nottingham

By your side  I’ve dressed your bloody wounds  Held your hands and kept you warm  When we stepped in the prognosis looked poor  Medicine is complicated but CPR is simple and that time you got a second chance  We help triple immobilise, sometimes medicate, always dedicate ourselves to our patients  Patience is our virtue, but we know when urgency …

50 at 50: Sir Peter Rubin: Overcoming challenges and embracing opportunities

Sir Peter Rubin was Professor of Therapeutics at Nottingham from 1987 – 2014 and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences from 1997 – 2003.  While at Nottingham, Sir Peter led a number of momentous developments within the Faculty, including the development of the Graduate Entry Medical School in Derby and the Nottingham …