In this blog, Dr Ken Baker – 2019 Turner-Warwick lecturer for the Northern region – talks about how the scheme for trainees helped him to stand out and still positively impacts his career today.
It was truly an honour to be an inaugural Turner-Warwick lecturer. The scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for medical trainees to showcase their work and to network with national leaders in their field, and it’s also great fun!
I applied for this scheme in 2019, when I was a rheumatology trainee and NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) clinical lecturer based at Newcastle University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. My research focuses on remission and flare in rheumatoid arthritis, especially in identifying biomarkers that can predict when patients can safely taper and stop their arthritis drugs.
The award has undoubtedly helped to raise my profile within the region, and has helped to support my further clinical academic career development.
Being a Turner-Warwick lecturer gave me a unique platform to disseminate my research to a far wider audience than I could have otherwise achieved. Furthermore, the association with the RCP adds to the prestige of the award, making it a visible recognition of the quality of my work and achievements. The award has undoubtedly helped to raise my profile within the region, and has helped to support my further clinical academic career development.
As a winning trainee lecturer, I was an invited speaker at the regional RCP Update in medicine conference, which was a great way to share the latest exciting results from my research studies with a wide range of fellow clinicians across the region. Furthermore, I was also invited to attend the annual RCP Harveian Oration and dinner, which was a great opportunity to network with leading clinicians across the country.
I am very grateful to the RCP for establishing the Turner-Warwick lecturer scheme, and would strongly encourage trainees to apply for this remarkable and rewarding opportunity.
Since my lectureship, I have been awarded a senior clinical fellow and honorary consultant rheumatologist post at Newcastle University and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, supported by Newcastle Health Innovation Partners and the Newcastle Hospitals Charity. I continue to develop a portfolio of translational research to make drug-free remission in rheumatoid arthritis an achievable reality, for the benefit of our patients and the wider society. I am very grateful to the RCP for establishing the Turner-Warwick lecturer scheme, and would strongly encourage trainees to apply for this remarkable and rewarding opportunity.
2023 Turner-Warwick lectures
The flagship trainee lecturer scheme is open for entries from 14 July 2022 until 4 October 2022.
Most people apply to this lecturer scheme because a consultant they know recommended it to them.
The Turner-Warwick lecturer scheme provides a sense of pride, builds confidence and builds soft-skills – all while highlighting the valuable contribution trainees bring to healthcare.
