Advertise on podcast: Recollecting Oxford Medicine: Oral Histories

Derek Hockaday interviews Martin Vessey, Emeritus Professor of Public Health, 4 June 2014 Topics discussed include: (00:00:15) how MV came to Oxford; (00:01:36) John Honour; (00:03:46) choosing to focus on epidemiology and statistics, learning about statistics and computing post medical qualification and return to clinical house appointments; (00:07:28) meeting Richard Doll; (00:10:14) comparing Oxford and London computing facilities; (00.11:39) MD thesis, United States trip and return to Oxford, (00:14:39) work under direction of Richard Doll at Medical Research Council statistical research unit and effect on direction of career; (00:18:26) MRC and World Health Organisation; (00:19:49) fertilisation and contraceptive work; (00:23:42) studies relating to the etiology of cervical cancer; (00:26:58) research into menopause and investigation of hormone replacement; (00:31:22) differences in different generations of contraceptive pills; (00:36:34) social and community medicine in relation to epidemiology; (00:42:02) interactions with and teaching medical students; (00:48:57) attending medical and surgical grand rounds; (00:50:17) research, papers and breast cancer screening; (00:55:51) Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution; (00:58:50) Rosemary Rue; (01:02:04) travelling for conferences; (01:04:10) supervising DPhil students; (01:09:20) final thoughts on career; (01:11:53) women in epidemiology and medicine.

Derek Hockaday interviews Mike Dunnill, researcher, pathologist and former Director of Clinical Studies,10 February 2012. Topics discussed include: (00:00:10) first coming to Oxford from Bristol in 1956, Department of Pathology facilities; (00:04:00) becoming interested in medical education, George Pickering's committee for Medical School at Nottingham; (00:05:18) becoming Director of Clinical Studies in 1967; (00:06:15) report outlining changes to Honours schools coinciding with the Royal Commission on Medical Education,1969; (00:11:27) lunchtime post-mortem demonstrations; (00:15:21) the [Richard] Doll committee; (00:19:46) graduate assistants work in 1950s in Oxford; (00:21:10) staff on the Pathology course; (00:25:16) the Nuffield Committee; (00:26:38) increasing student numbers for clinical school; (00:28:10) George Pickering.

Derek Hockaday interviews Ann Taylor, researcher and physiologist, 20 January 2016. Topics discussed include: (00:01:25) family connection to Oxford, teenage years in Oxford High school for girls, entry into Somerville and old quota system; (00:02:57) being under the care of Dorothy Hodgkin in the medical school; (00:04:32) Janet Vaughn; (00:05:20) thoughts on schools year, practical work and courses; (00:11:00) working at the Pickering unit, comparing Witts and Pickering; (00:12:38) role post-research; (00:16:10) appointed first medical tutor and lecturer at St. Anne's college, work with H.B Parry in the Nuffield Institute; (00:21:15) work at Stanford, America, thoughts on American healthcare system, work under Roy Maffly on cell biology (effects of antimitotic drugs); (00:24:10) submitting research paper to the Congress of Nephrology, grant application having to be under Roy Maffly's name; (00:28:26) moving to Cornell University Medical School, department of physiology, and work on microtubules; (00:31:57) returning to Oxford, lectureship in physiology department joint appointment allocation with St Edmund Hall, tutoring and lecturing; (00:35:40) running the renal physiology course; (00:239:12) memories of colleagues in the department of physiology; (00:41:38) thoughts on Oxford Medical system; (00:45:25) family at time of clinical course, support with children; (00:48:03) being the first woman fellow at St Edmund Hall in 1980; (00:52:25) relationship between clinical and pre-clinical departments, surgeons; (00:56:51) ward sisters and nurses.

John Oxbury interviews John Spalding, former consultant and research neurologist for Oxford United Hospitals, 26 July 2011. Topics discussed include: (00:00:13) experience of neurology in Oxford from mid 1940s, student houseman job and being a house surgeon for Hugh Cairns at Radcliffe infirmary during the war; (00:02:00) Hugh Cairns; (00:04:21) jobs after qualifying; (00:06:20) working in the military head injury hospital during second world war; (00:10:14) Spalding’s papers on pheochromocytoma and number forms; (00:21:56) Nuffield 3 being built, allocated space for neurology; (00:22:44) polio; (00:31:00) the East Radcliffe ventilator; (00:34:30) the Polio Fund; (00:43:50) treating patients with tetanus and Myasthenia gravis; (00:47:42) BBC 'Your life in their hands' television show; (00:50:21) investigating blood pressure when treating patients with tetanus and Guillain-Barre syndrome with Geoffrey George; (01:01:07) time with Honor Smith in Morocco investigating outbreak of paralysis; (01:09:14) balancing research and clinical work as a neurologist; (01:15:00) post retirement life. The following sections of audio are redacted: 00:08:12-00:09:04; 00:17:16-00:18:12; 00:40:50-00:42:30; 01:11:40-01:12.00.

Derek Hockaday interviews George Alberti, research endocrinologist and former President of the Royal College of Physicians, 24 May 2013. Topics discussed include: (00:00:00) admission into Balliol to study medicine, preliminaries and early years in Oxford, Sandy Oxton (00:05:15) Coolidge Scholarship to go to United States; (00:07:50) Biochemistry and DPhil project at Hans Krebs lab on amino acid metabolism in mitochondria; (00:12:12) work ethic and start of clinical work, involvement in teaching tutorials; (00:16:37) Endocrinology and diabetes research; (00:20:00) finals; (00:21:33) teaching staff; (00:25:23) visits to United States, post-qualification fellowship applications; (00:27:35) research and clinics in Boston; (00:31:57) returning to Oxford to do clinical research; (00:35:40) comparing the Radcliffe and Oxford in general to other places clinically (United States, Southampton, Brighton); (00:36:43) Oxford undergraduate course as preparation for a career in medicine; (00:38:07) clinical research at the Hans Krebs unit; (00:42:10) reasons for leaving Oxford; (00:44:50) influence of multiple analyser on clinical biochemistry; (00:46:27) progression of the medical school since leaving Oxford; (00:48:25) reflection on teaching pre-clinical tutorials. Note that the following sections of audio are redacted: 00:09:29-00:09:35; 00:15:56-00:16:18; 00:23:40-00:23:42; 00:49:33-00:49:38.

Derek Hockaday interviews Richard Boyd, emeritus professor, lecturer in Medicine and fellow of Brasenose College, 30 August 2013. Topics discussed include: (00:00:08) childhood, coming to Merton College, Oxford; (00:01:56) comparing teaching methods between Cambridge and Oxford; (00:03:00) entrance into Oxford including interview; (00:04:18) practical work; (00:05:25) medical schools and teaching staff; (00:06:50) pharmacology; (00:09:25) BSc research (00:10:59) Path and Bac course; (00:12:00) moving to University College Hospital London, 1967 and comparisons with Oxford; (00:16:08) time in Papa New Guinea; (00:17:56) PhD thesis; (00:20:22) Rod Porter as head of clinical department; (00:21:58) Job in Dundee department of Physiology; (00:24:10) returning to Oxford from Dundee; (00:25:58) role as medical tutor for Brasenose College; (00:33:39) cholera treatment; (00:36:49) college life; (00:41:25) effect of internet on medicine; (00:43:04) changes seen in the Oxford Medical School; (00:44:52) pre-clinical students and changes to the pre-clinical courses; (00:52:00) setting up the synoptic paper on pre-clinical course; (00:52:50) evolution of Oxford pre clinical school compared to Cambridge; (00:54:25) writing and editing; (00:55:56) involvement in grant awarding bodies.

Derek Hockaday interviews Hywel Jones, consultant geriatrician, 20 May 2014. Part 1 of interview. Topics discussed include: (00:00:15) coming to the Oxford hospitals; (00:04:35) time at High Wycombe hospital; (00:07:40) standard of Oxford medical care in comparison to other hospitals; (00:11:52) work of social services with geriatricians (00:16:16) role of multi-disciplinary teams in managing care; (00:24:00) colleagues in first years at Oxford; (00:25:30) scope of involvement in general medicine as well as geriatric, discussion of specialisms and acute medicine; (00:31:19) dealing with cottage hospitals, the running of community hospitals; (00:36:35) work with David Weatherall and John Ledingham; (00:38:20) modern imaging; (00:41:02) effects of administrators and administration process; (00:47:53) rising cost of health care and expectations of public; (00:51:08) judging the biological age of a patient as opposed to chronological age; (00:54:35) effects of anaesthetics, post operative delirium; (00:57:29) end point of dementia and delirium patients; (01:02:26) effect of decline of male smoking; (01:04:35) coming to Oxford for consultant job and moving to Thame; (01:05:48) involvement in administrative committees; (01:09:54) development of Level 4 Ward at John Radcliffe hospital; (01:12:30) Care Quality Commission rating; (01:15:20) inspections in general; (01:19:21) progress in medicine in the last thirty years. Note the following section of audio is redacted: 00:43:02-00:43:15.

Part 2 of Derek Hockaday's interview with Hywel Jones, consultant geriatrician, 20 May 2014. Continuing from part 1. Topics discussed include: 00:00:00- improvement of medicine and progress in the last thirty years, risk, treatment plans and guidelines; supporting trainees and junior doctors and MD Thesis.

Derek Hockaday interviews Chris Adams, senior neurosurgeon, 26 August 2014. Part 1 of interview, a discussion about why and how Chris Adams came to Oxford and the Radcliffe Infirmary.

Derek Hockaday continues his interview of Chris Adams, senior neurosurgeon, 26 August 2014. Part 2 of interview, topics discussed include being a senior house surgeon and microscope operation. Note the following sections of audio are redacted: 00:00:31-00:00:48; 00:05:58-00:06:05; 00:06:24-00:06:44.

The final part of Derek Hockaday's interview with Chris Adams, senior neurosurgeon, 26 August 2014. Continuing from part 2. Topics discussed include: (00:00:00) Dick Guy; (00:04:45) changes with building of new John Radcliffe hospital on the Oxford Accident Service; (00:07:00) work on subretinal clotting and haemorrhages; (00:11:07) Assay at Queens Square, University College London on the spine; (00:16:42) Peter Teddy appointment; (00:20:45) pituitary work; (00:22:12) history of epilepsy surgery; (00:25:56) nursing at the John Radcliffe compared to London hospitals; (00:28:25) feelings after a operating; (00:30:32) trigeminal neuralgia; (00:35:13) publications; (00:38:00) emergency team; (00:42:33) private medicine surgery and OxDONS syndrome paper on NHS reforms; (00:49:25) anaesthetists CA worked with; comparing working as a senior house officer in Oxford to London. Note the following sections of audio are redacted: 00:00:18-00:00:32; 00:02:00-00:02:21; 00:08:36-00:08:58; 00:20:32-00:20:44; 00:49:50-00:50:01; 00:50:19-00:52:13.

Derek Hockaday interviews Keith Hawton, consultant psychiatrist and professor of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, 19 September 2014. Topics discussed include: (00:00:15) why Hawton chose Cambridge, not Oxford, and pre-clinical training; (00:01:28) journey into medicine through experimental psychology; (00:04:20) Oxford Medical School and clinical student years; (00:08:30) surgical house job; (00:10:14) post house job roles, coinciding with psychiatric training scheme, 1971, and research; (00:12:36) relationship between physical and mental illness; (00:15:44) Oxford Department of Psychiatry and Michael Gelder; (00:17:55) MD thesis topic on self harm and suicide research at the Barnes unit; (00:19:35) work of colleagues; (00:23:40) roles in the Department of Psychiatry since 1974; (00:25:58) clinical tutoring and teaching; (00:28:50) Oxbridge student suicides in the 1950s; (00:31:50) suicide and pseudocide; (00:35:41) time abroad in the Netherlands and New Zealand; (00:38:10) pathogenesis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; (00:40:40) national meetings and roles in national groups; (00:42:20) writing and editing; (00:45:57) change in psychiatric awareness from start of career to present day; (00:50:35) current local psychiatric services; (00:54:19) sport.