Meet Adam Widdison: From Surgeon to Educator
Hi, my name is Adam Widdison. I am a retired surgeon and the author of The Expert Clinician. My qualifications include BA (Oxon), BM BCh (Oxon), DM (Oxon), FRCS (Eng), PGCE (Plym). I was born in Ruddington, England and trained to become a doctor at Oxford University. After qualifying in 1984, I worked as a pre-registration house officer at Oxford and Plymouth Hospitals and then taught anatomy to medical students at Cambridge University.
I undertook basic surgical training at hospitals in Oxford, Bristol and Bridgend, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1989. My research into the pathogenesis of acute and chronic pancreatitis undertaken at University College, Los Angeles School of Medicine, led to numerous publications and the award of a Doctor of Medicine degree from Oxford University in 1991.
My higher surgical training was undertaken at hospitals in Norwich, Exeter and Bristol. In 1995, I was awarded a Hunterian Professorship and a British Journal of Surgery European travel fellowship, and I obtained my UK and European Certificates of Completion of Specialist Training.
On the 1st November 1995, I was appointed to the post of Consultant General and Specialist Gastrointestinal Surgeon at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, England.
Alongside a busy full-time job, I actively taught, mentored, supervised, and assessed students, trainee doctors, colleagues, nurses, and other health care professionals. I helped them develop their professional skills and competencies to provide the best possible patient care.
During this time, I noticed that once qualified, trainees had to learn for themselves how to adapt to clinical reality—a fast-paced, rapidly changing world in which they must manage many and varied problems and increasingly high patient expectations across different clinical contexts. This experience led me to write The Expert Clinician to help them bridge the divide between what educators teach and what clinical practice actually demands. I created this blog to go beyond the pages of The Expert Clinician.
Acknowledgements
I owe the start of my medical career to the love and support of my parents, Ivor and Gill. I also thank Mr Ken Shorrocks, Mr AJ Watson-Wemys, and the teachers at Gravesend School for Boys for their guidance and instruction, which helped me reach university. Additionally, I am grateful to Professors Peter Matthews and David Smith for offering me a place at Christ Church and Oxford University Medical School.
I would also like to thank my wife, Susan, and my children, Nicholas and Natasha, who put up with me, supported me and grounded me in reality throughout my professional career.
I would like to thank the patients, colleagues, students, and other healthcare professionals from whom I have learnt so much over the years.
I am sincerely thankful to the many committed and caring people I have collaborated with and learned from over the years. I especially want to thank Messrs. Michael Thompson, Alun Evans, Julian Britton, Dougie George, and Professor John Farndon for their career support. I also wish to recognise Dr Harry Dalton, Paul Fortun, John Barnes, and Sanjeev Gupta, inspiring clinicians I had the privilege to work with.
I especially want to thank Dr Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Cara McLaughlin for their enthusiastic and helpful support for my book; Holly (editor) and her team at Austin Macauley for assisting with its publication; and Andrea Mead for inspiring me to write this blog and collaborating with me on it. Thank you.
For an in-depth exploration of this transformative approach, I invite you to delve into my book, “The Expert Clinician: Bridging the Clinical Divide.” Together, we’ll reshape the future of clinical practice. To buy my book, follow the link to Amazon:
A more detailed curriculum vitae is available on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-widdison-93172b31/
For more information on my research and publications, follow the link to ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adam-Widdison-2?ev=hdr_xprf
About the Editor
Meet Andrea Mead: Blogger, Travel Writer, and Photographer
I’ve greatly valued working with Adam on this project. As someone living with an autoimmune condition, the subject is deeply personal.
It took 25 years for me to be diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, despite early indicators such as HLA-B27 positivity and episodes of iritis being overlooked. For years, I struggled to understand my symptoms, often feeling dismissed and questioning myself.
After many rewarding years in technology sales and leadership, where I learned the art of turning challenges into opportunities and “no” into “yes”, I decided to focus my energy on the things that inspire me most: family, travel, writing, and storytelling.
Today, I’m a freelance travel writer, photographer, and lifestyle blogger. My current “quota” is no longer sales targets, but discovering new places, capturing meaningful moments, and chasing as many sunsets as possible before the next deadline 😊
Writing has become my passion, and I continue to explore the fascinating world of emotional intelligence—how we connect, communicate, and understand one another. This curiosity shapes both my personal perspective and my professional voice, allowing me to bring together ideas, experiences, and people through storytelling.
My earlier career was built around banking technology, sales leadership, and business growth. I served as Sales Director for the consulting division of a major software company following the acquisition of three businesses, where my team achieved 128% of a $100M annual target in the first year. I was later appointed to the Board of a technology company as Sales Director, helping to triple revenue ahead of a three-year growth plan.
Throughout my career, I have helped startups and established technology businesses improve sales strategy, marketing processes, integration, and revenue growth. I also founded and led an executive search firm specialising in senior appointments within global software organisations.
Today, my focus is on creating content that informs, inspires, and connects. I’m a successful blogger with consistently high readership, a published travel writer and photographer, and the author behind stories that explore life, wellbeing, adventure, and the experiences that shape us.
– You can follow my writing here:
https://living-with-autoimmune.com/
– Working as a published travel writer and photographer
A more detailed curriculum vitae is available on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreameadblogger/
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is for informational purposes and does not replace professional medical advice.
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A blog to help trainee clinicians become experts
The Expert Clinician 
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