We’re pleased to announce our first two conference speakers for Sun Sea & PCP, this year’s undergraduate pre-hospital care conference.
Dr Natasha Dole
Senior A&E Registrar, Oxford University Hospitals
Biography
Originally from India, I have lived most of my life in South Africa. I graduated from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa in 2009 and relocated to Oxford in June 2019. I am currently a Senior A&E Registrar at John Radcliffe in Oxford. I’ve spent the majority of my professional career in Emergency and Prehospital Medicine, wherein I get to witness the best ten minutes of every specialty. I’ve taken the scenic route, or as Robert Frost would say “the road less travelled” which has given me the opportunity to marry both my experience from the government and private sector as well as from both developed and developing countries across the world. I particularly enjoyed my 2.5 year stint, working at sea, as Senior Doctor, which was a real eye opener on multiple levels. When not at work, I am an avid writer and lover of the English language – I used to write monthly health related articles for Cosmo and Fair Lady and have also had some pieces of poetry published. Lastly, I am also very involved in and passionate about teaching under and post graduate medical students that I thoroughly enjoy.
Tom Kidney
Lecturer in Paramedic Science, University of Plymouth
Biography:
On finishing college, I gained a position working in my local hospital pharmacy. This lead to a place on the BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science program at the University of East Anglia (UEA), which I enrolled on in September 2014.
As a student with UEA, I gained a roll with Festival Medical Services (FMS) as a volunteer student paramedic for Reading and Glastonbury festival. I am still volunteering with FMS today as a qualified paramedic.
In the final months of studying with UEA, the lecturing team secured paramedic students a place on the UK Resuscitation Council Advanced Life Support certificated course, to which I achieved.
I began my career in October 2017 with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) where I gained my initial ‘on the road’ experience. I had obtained an Associate Tutor (AT) role with UEA on graduating. 4 months later (February 2018), I had officially started a remote paramedic role in the tropics, the Cook Islands. I held this position as the only practicing paramedic in the country, being the youngest working for the local ambulance service at the age of 23. I had helped develop a local Community First Responder (CFR) scheme alongside the local fire service. I had written a paramedic scope of practice, ambulance officer scope of practice and a medicines management policy which was put forward for approval in New Zealand. I had spent some time training local ambulance officers, nurses, student nurses and doctors within the pre-hospital environment. My role also involved medical retrieval via boat and plane from the more remote islands.
I left my remote paramedic role in April 2019 to return home and enroll on a MSc in Extreme Medicine. In May 2019, I gained a role with Lubas Medical Ltd as a Medic Coordinator for approximately 80 medics. My role consisted of working as a film set medic for a HBO and BBC production, His Dark Materials (Season 1 and 2), as well as coordinating the medics to cover other locations for filming and set building. I would also cover Cardiff City Football Club (CCFC) as a pitch-side medic. Before leaving Lubas Medical, I spent the last 2 months training Welsh Dental and GP surgeries in compulsory basic first aid and Basic Life Support (BLS).
On leaving Lubas Medical, I joined the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) in February 2020 as a frontline paramedic to support the demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. I held this position until November 2020. I had then joined the Paramedic Science team in Plymouth and continue to evolve into the clinician I aspire to be. My aim is to gain a PGCert in Clinical Education to further my skills in educating future paramedics. I am aiming to further my knowledge on Global Health whilst with the University of Plymouth (UoP).
I have a specific interest in polar, tropical, wilderness/remote medicine and global health which I aim to use to assist students within their training.
Norwich Pre-Hospital Care Programme 