Recollecting Oxford Medicine: Oral Histories

Oxford University
Recollecting Oxford Medicine: Oral Histories Podcast

The Recollecting Oxford Medicine oral history project originated when Peggy Frith, as President of Oxford Medical Alumni, recognised the potential of recorded interviews to capture stories, memories and voices from the Oxford Medical school and Oxford Hospitals. The interviewees were selected to cover, from an Oxford perspective over almost a century, the many changes in the practice of medicine and medical teaching, of both local and national importance. The material would supplement the Bodleian Libraries' extensive archives related to notable Oxford medical researchers. Between 2011 and 2021 Derek Hockaday, Oxford physician since the 1960s, along with Frith and others, interviewed 50 current or former professors, directors, researchers, clinicians and technicians who span from the Second World War until the present day. This podcast series comprises the publicly accessible recordings from the oral history project. Album cover: Radcliffe Infirmary, 2019. Photograph by Billy Wilson, available under the terms of CC BY-NC 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode

  1. 20/01/2022

    Ann Taylor

    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.

    1h 1m
  2. 30/09/2021

    Terence Ryan

    Susan Burge interviews Terence Ryan, consultant dermatologist and emeritus professor of dermatology, 18 November 2020. Topics discussed include: (00:00:25) reasons for becoming a doctor, school days during Second World War; (00:03:10) coming to Oxford University; (00:04:20) entrance paper, first impressions of Oxford, Worcester College and medical school as a student; (00:07:05) clinical studies 1953, role as president of Osler House and Tingewick society pantomime; (00:08:47) house jobs, national service with Royal Army Medical Corps; (00:11:20) interest in dermatology; (00:13:21) dermatologist membership difficulties; (00:14:52) publishing papers early in career on blood vessels and growth of epidermis; (00:16:59) British Association for Dermatology; (00:18:03) vascular laboratory at St John's, London; returning to Oxford in 1971 as consultant; (00:20:11) Graham Weddell and leprosy patients and studies in Oxford; (00:23:04) links with the Radcliffe Infirmary, dermatology interaction with other medics and colleagues; (00:27:37) technicians in dermatology, the Slade Hospital and nurses, interest in the development of nurses in wound healing; (00:30:28) the importance of dermatology nursing, starting and developing the British Dermatology Nursing Group and International Skincare Nursing group, international work including Africa, Central America and China; (00:42:13) changes in Oxford hospitals through career, outpatient facilities at John Radcliffe compared to Radcliffe Infirmary and changes to dermatology department including surgery and facilities at the Slade Hospital; (00:47:19) colleagues in the department, support of Rosemary Rue; (00:49:30) relationships with infectious diseases department; (00:52:20) watercolour paintings, interest in Japanese paintings and buying and making décor for Oxford hospitals; (00:57:18) being contacted to organise St John's Ambulance presence at Winston Churchill's funeral; (01:00:54) continuation of international travel after retirement. Note the following section of audio is redacted: 00:17:08-00:17:14.

    1h 2m
  3. 27/09/2021

    Michael Gillmer

    Derek Hockaday interviews Michael Gillmer, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, 27 February 2014. Topics discussed include: (00:00:10) coming to Oxford, Alec Turnbull; (00:01:53) initial impressions of Oxford, contrast between Oxford and St Marys, London; the John Radcliffe site and changes from original Radcliffe site; (00:06:54) John Stallworthy; (00:09:14 ) Chris Redman and Geoffrey Robinson; (00:12:30) first ultrasound scanner at the John Radcliffe; (00:14:59) workload in first five years of Oxford, split between research programme and clinical workload; (00:17:10) diabetes research; (00:20:38) teaching, Oxford medical students compared to St Marys medical students; (00:24:19) district and regional work and antenatal clinics; (00:27:55) national committees, changing nature of training for gynaecological medical examination; (00:32:03) chairman roles; (00:34:33) change in European Union and Home Office regulations on trainees from abroad, Carmen training course, obstetric specialists; (00:40:36) Alec Turnbull, chairman roles in the university and the hospital; (00:45:15) views of expansion of management in the health service; (00:49:25) Oxford nursing compared to London; (00:50:19) maternal deaths register; (00:54:39) changes in obstetric medicine over career; (01:08:20) previous Nuffield Professors of Obstetrics Gynaecology including Alec Turnbull and the Alec Turnbull family planning clinic; (01:13:14) balancing being a clinician and researcher; (01:14:18) switch from academic post to NHS consultant and discussing final paper; (01:18:50) final thoughts, comparing past with recent present including practical experience offered to medical students. Note the following sections of audio are redacted: 01:15:31-01:16:20 and 01:17:34-01:17:38.

    1h 24m
  4. 27/09/2021

    David Warrell

    Derek Hockaday interviews David Warrell, honorary consultant physician and Emeritus Professor of Tropical Medicine, 24 March 2014. Topics discussed include: (00:00:13) admissions procedure to Oxford Medical School; (00:03:00) thoughts on first two years of BM and Christ Church college; (00:04:58) Peter Matthews as tutor; (00:06:45) learning anatomy; (00:10:11) academic interests; (00:11:08) clinical training at St Thomas' Hospital; (00:16:16) the London hospital circuit, returning to Oxford and initial role as consultant physician with responsibility for admissions; (00:26:05) role in South East Asia, 1978; (00:30:23) reasons for being drawn to Thailand; (00:34:33) time in Thailand, relationship with Thailand doctors and research trails and publications; (00:43:47) role of wife, Mary Warrell, in Thailand; (00:49:46) visit to China with Nick White; (00:52:14) research after first paper (dexamethasone,1982); (00:57:23) snake bite work; (01:02:11) reasons for return to Oxford after Thailand, becoming Professor of Tropical Medicine and expansion of the Centre for Tropical Medicine; (01:09:04) comparing Oxford to London Hammersmith, on-take ward rounds; (01:14:30) effect of AIDS on the infectious diseases world; (01:19:54) Wellcome trust backing and support; (01:23:26) inception of snake bite work; (01:25:30) Oxford Textbook of Medicine, Athsma clinic in Nigeria; (01:32:06) disappointments; (01:36:10) Path and Bac course; (01:38:51) changes in NHS, administrators and protocols. Note the following sections of audio are redacted: 00:13:45-00:14:30 and 01:00:09-01:02:10.

    1h 42m
  5. 24/09/2021

    Robert Twycross

    Derek Hockaday interviews Robert Twycross, physician and pioneer of palliative care and medicine, 7 August 2018. Topics discussed include: (00:00:14) idea to come to Oxford to study medicine; (00:01:13) the admissions process to Oxford Medical School, by St Peters college; (00:04:10) Path and Bac courses after schools, schools work and lecturers; (00:06:15) clinical training; (00:09:48) house jobs with firms in Oxford; (00:14:12) support from ward sisters and other staff during houseman days; 00:16:09 applying for senior house officer jobs, Lancaster; (00:18:11) deciding to go into holistic and palliative care; (00:24:00) St Christopher's as research fellow 1971; (00:26:10) terminal care across hospitals in 1960s-1970s, teaching of Cicely Saunders; growth of communication skills in terminal care; (00:30:31) doctorate research at St Christopher's on use of diamorphine in cancer pain; (00:40:53) Sobell house, Oxford 1976; (00:54:30) patient referrals to Sobell House and domiciliary visits; (01:00:50) increase of beds for Sobell House, conversion of unit to a mini Day Centre; (01:02:58) funding for Sobell House, National Society for Cancer Relief; (01:07:31) teaching clinical students; (01:11:28) deciding between university academic post or NHS consultant later in career; (01:15:05) changes once beginning university readership 1988; (01:19:56) importance of nurses; (01:22:42) laboratory and radiology support; (01:24:00) international teaching and teaching in conjunction with the World Health Organisation; (01:27:57) interaction with anaesthetists; (01:30:10) setting up the Association of Palliative Medicine for the UK and Ireland, experiencing burnout; (01:35:42) writing and publishing books. Note the following sections of audio is redacted: 00:50:24-00:50:30.

    1h 37m

About

The Recollecting Oxford Medicine oral history project originated when Peggy Frith, as President of Oxford Medical Alumni, recognised the potential of recorded interviews to capture stories, memories and voices from the Oxford Medical school and Oxford Hospitals. The interviewees were selected to cover, from an Oxford perspective over almost a century, the many changes in the practice of medicine and medical teaching, of both local and national importance. The material would supplement the Bodleian Libraries' extensive archives related to notable Oxford medical researchers. Between 2011 and 2021 Derek Hockaday, Oxford physician since the 1960s, along with Frith and others, interviewed 50 current or former professors, directors, researchers, clinicians and technicians who span from the Second World War until the present day. This podcast series comprises the publicly accessible recordings from the oral history project. Album cover: Radcliffe Infirmary, 2019. Photograph by Billy Wilson, available under the terms of CC BY-NC 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode

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