Speakers
Dr Sarah Burgess
Professor Gavin Perkins
Dr Clare Windsor
Ben Lowe
Mini-theatre 1
Moving from registrar to consultant is a leap, especially when you want to do more than just fill a rota. This relaxed, honest, and interactive session is aimed at late-stage trainees and early-career consultants (including CESR routes) who are thinking about how to shape a fulfilling ICU career.
We’ll hear from three colleagues who've managed to carve out interesting and varied roles alongside clinical work, whether that’s in education, research, leadership or something entirely different. Each speaker will share their journey, tips on negotiating job plans, and the reality behind the CV highlights.
Expect a mix of candour, caution, and encouragement in a session packed with real talk on what’s possible, what’s hard, and what makes it all worthwhile.
Chairperson
Sarah Burgess & Ben Lowe
Gavin Perkins
Wonders and Woes of a career as a clinical academic
Clare Windsor
Tubes, tears and triumphs ten years on
Matt Morgan
One Thousand Five Hundred Mondays
Sarah grew up in the West Country and qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2012. She decided that critical care was for her after watching a registrar do an RSI on a general medical ward and deciding this was the coolest thing ever! She has worked in Lancashire, Cambridgeshire, the West Midlands and London where she currently works as dual trainee in anaesthesia and ICM (she no longer approves of intubating patients on medical wards...) She was elected to the ICS Trainee Advisory Group in late 2020, where she works for the education team.
Prof Gavin Perkins is Dean of Medicine at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Honorary Professor of Critical Care Medicine at University Hospitals Birmingham and Non-Executive Director at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. He has published over 500 papers and played a key role in developing the evidence base relating to cardiac arrest through his leadership of the UK National Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes Registry and the PARAMEDIC trials (PARAMEDIC-1, mechanical CPR, PARAMEDIC-2, adrenaline for cardiac arrest; PARAMEDIC-3 IV versus IO access) as well as research on CPR Feedback and Debriefing. Working with colleagues from across the UK, he played a key role in the underpinning research which informed the Recommended Emergency Care Treatment Plans (ReSPECT). His contribution to clinical research has been recognised through election as a Fellow to the Academy of Medical Sciences, appointment as a National Institute for Health Research Senior Investigator, honorary membership of the Resuscitation Council UK, European Resuscitation Council and Intensive Care Society and recognition as a Resuscitation Giant by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation. Clarivate have identified him as a highly cited researcher, ranking in the top 1% of scientists in the world. As a Masters graduate in Medical Education, Prof Perkins prides himself in the organisation and delivery of high quality, research-led teaching to students and healthcare professionals at Warwick and around the world. Although his role now primarily focuses on leadership he has led the development of novel undergraduate and postgraduate teaching which had an impact on thousands of students and the patients they treat. Prior to taking up the role of Dean he served as Director of Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, Director of Research for the Intensive Care Society and as a MERIT Consultant with West Midlands Ambulance Service for which he received the Queens Jubilee Medals for Pre-hospital Care.
Clare is a Consultant in ICM & Anaesthesia in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, having been appointed in 2014 and is a current ICS Council Member.
She has a keen interest in patient safety and governance, taking the lead for Critical Care Governance since 2015 and being an active member of the ICS Standards & Guidelines Committee.
She is a strong advocate for the care of young adults as they transition into the care of Adult Critical Care and was the lead author for the joint national guidelines between the ICS and PCCS (Paediatric to Adult Critical Care Transition).
Other interests include Organ Donation, having been a Clinical Lead for Organ Donation since 2019, and a representative of the ICS on the National Organ Donation Committee.
Matt Morgan is a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Honorary Professor for the Public Understanding of Medicine and regular BMJ columnist.
He has contributed to >50 scientific articles following his PhD in artificial intelligence. He has spoken at some of the largest book festivals in the world, written articles for diverse publications from The Guardian to Esquire magazine, featured on radio programmes including The Today Program as well as appearing on many television programs from CNN to The BBC.
He gave the 2023 Woodridge Lecture, has spoken at The Wellcome Trust and was nominated for the Royal Society’s David Attenborough prize for public engagement. He was listed in the top fifty most influential health tech people in 2024.
His first book CRITICAL tells remarkable stories of patients in the intensive care unit. His second book, ONE MEDICINE, explores how understanding animals can help treat human disease. His third book A SECOND ACT, tells the stories of patients after surviving a cardiac arrest and what these can teach us about our own lives.
He is a member of the BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS, ambassador for 2Wish charity, patron for The Humanimal Trust and medical advisor for The National Theatre London’s production of "Nye", the story of Aneurin Bevan starring Michel Sheen. He lives in Cardiff with his family and loves ice cream.