Today, students from our Aspiring Medics Club were invited to meet with special guest, Dr. Chris Pickering, a consultant in Medical Leadership, Quality Improvement and Governance.
Mrs Abbott, who organised the session said ‘it was an honour to have Chris talking to our aspiring medics today. His wealth of knowledge and experience was invaluable to our students and we would love to invite Chris back in the near future. Not only was Chris incredibly informative, but the students really warmed to his personable approach and left feeling inspired.’
Dr Chris Pickering has worked across various hospitals in the A&E services and has previously been a clinical lead. Chris has most recently worked as a national specialty advisor for Emergency Medicine at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust. He is also a membership representative of governance at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, an experienced associate chief medical officer and has been a regional clinical advisor to the NHS England Midlands UEC regional team. Chris has got an exciting career ahead of him and will be taking on a new role at the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust very soon.
Chris began his talk by sharing his qualifications with the group, from studying double maths, physics and chemistry at A-level, biology at The University of Cambridge and all the way through the rigorous process to becoming a consultant. Chris explained how he gained an incredible amount of experience and was exposed to a wealth of opportunity during the training process. Throughout his time training, he explored different faculties within medicine which helped him find what he was passionate about.
Chris showed the group a docu-series called “999 critical condition” in which a camera crew followed his department to be broadcast on channel 5. Following the clip, the group of students were asked to critically analyse the footage and what problem-solving factors were involved into providing the best type of care for the patient. The group enjoyed the discussion and gave some impressive answers, which led onto a discussion about what skills are needed to work in medicine. These included; communication, teamwork, awareness, being personable, adaptability, time management and working under pressure. A key learning for our students was how important voluntary experience is at their age. Chris’ love for helping people began when he pushed the tea trolley round at his local hospital!
The students then split into groups to discuss various current affairs in the NHS. These included; Should Doctors Strike, Maternity Care, and Queuing Ambulances & Corridor Care. Chris was delighted to hear the conversations and debates between the students who were putting some intelligent points forward to argue their opinion and what impact decisions can make in the long and short term.
The group finished with a Q&A session. Chris left the students to ponder on a question – ‘How do you know you’re good at something?’ which has given them food for thought. Well done to the following students for your attentiveness, curiosity and for representing JTHS so brilliantly. We are confident that many of you will have an incredible career within medicine and will make a real difference.
Students Invited:
Year 11: Amelia C, Abbigail C, Aaimah R, Habibah S, Sam H, Dom B, Amelie R
Year 12: Ava W, Sarah Hoysal, Tom G, Shayanti P, Jess H, Hannah H, Eva G, Holly S
Year 13: Paige D, Maymunah S, Sam G, Momina T, Nelson R, Alizeh K,
