RCP Global vice president Dr Mumtaz Patel and her team are delighted to be welcoming three new associate global directors (AGDs).
Collaboration plays a key part in the success of RCP Global activity and is a pivotal way the team delivers the objectives set out in our Global strategy. Following a recruitment process, three new AGDs will guide RCP activity in the Americas and European regions and help drive forward and support international medical graduates (IMGs), which includes oversight of the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) scheme.
Our new AGDs are fellows of the RCP who have been appointed on an honorary basis for a fixed 4-year period. They will be supported by international advisers (IAs) and will be responsible for building links with local physicians and institutions, participating in clinical training projects, and acting as RCP ambassadors. They are:
Professor Mitchell Rosner – AGD, the Americas
Professor Mitchell Rosner is the Henry B. Mulholland professor of medicine and chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Virginia. He has served in this role since 2009. He is also the deputy education director for the International Society of Nephrology. His clinical practice focus is the medical care of patients with all forms of kidney disease, from acute kidney injury to end-stage kidney disease. He has a passion for education and has been honoured with several awards including the All-University of Virginia Award for Education and the Master Educator award from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Speaking about his appointment, Mitchell said: ‘I am excited about the potential of bringing the skills, educational content and experience of the RCP to a wider audience in the Americas. We are joined in the common purpose of helping patients and the tools of the RCP can help improve the quality of care and outcomes. It is a great honour to serve.’
Dr Tómas Thor Ágústsson – AGD, Europe
Tómas Thor Ágústsson is a consultant physician in diabetes, endocrinology and internal medicine and is currently the chief medical officer at Landspítali, the National University Hospital of Iceland. He's held a consultant post at Landspítali since 2013 and obtained his role of chief medical officer after serving as head of postgraduate medicine. Following the successful implementation of internal medicine training and MRCP examinations in Iceland, Tómas has also participated in other international RCP work focused on Education. Speaking about his appointment as AGD, Tómas said: ‘I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed AGD for Europe. I have had the pleasure and privilege of working closely with RCP, in particular the Education Department around the development of postgraduate medical education in Iceland for the last decade. I'm extremely excited to have the opportunity to share and build on that experience to develop and improve education and healthcare through further collaboration throughout Europe.’
Dr Emma Mitchell – AGD, international medical graduates
Dr Emma Mitchell is a consultant geriatrician working at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. She has a special interest in Parkinson’s disease and has been involved in various international research and service development projects related to ageing and frailty. Since 2021, she has supported doctors from Myanmar who have moved to the UK, working alongside several national organisations, most notably NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Medical Support Worker programme.
As AGD, Emma will work closely with the MTI team to continually drive forward the scheme and support international doctors coming to work and train in the UK. Speaking about her appointment, Emma said: ‘As AGD for international medical graduates (IMGs), I look forward to connecting with and learning from MTI candidates, NHS trusts and international partners to review how the MTI programme could be adapted and improved. I am excited by the opportunity to join the Global team and hope to help support opportunities for the development of new and existing international health partnerships.’
Speaking about the new appointments, global vice president Dr Mumtaz Patel said: ‘Our global work is vital to help improve healthcare standards worldwide. We do this by working collaboratively with our AGDs, IAs, members and fellows, who are all key to our success. Following our recruitment process, I am delighted to be welcoming our new AGDs and look forward to working with them to continually achieve our objectives and support our members and fellows. I’d like to personally thank our outgoing AGDs, Dr David Martin and Dr Anu Trehan for their continued commitment and contribution in their AGD roles.’
Outgoing AGD for the Americas Dr David Martin is demitting following 10 years of service. When summing up his time as AGD, he said: ‘It has been a great privilege to represent RCP in the Americas over the last 10 years. David Warrell, who hired me, referred to the region very grandiloquently as the ‘Western Hemisphere’, and Jane Dacre referred to me as ‘our man in Havana’. I was unable to confess to her that I have, in fact, never visited Havana. I have been very fortunate to have been supported by an outstanding team in London as well as a terrific group of international advisers dotted around this large region; in the last 10 years, our team has seen substantial RCP membership growth in the Caribbean and Latin America region of 35%.
We have engaged with members and fellows at specialist society meetings, facilitated faculty development and other educational symposia delivered by the College’s Education Unit, and developed a strong partnership with the American College of Physicians, the largest professional body of internal medicine worldwide. Finally, our connections with our Caribbean colleagues have grown even closer with the increasing use of the MTI scheme by their outstanding trainees and the establishment in 2019 of a high-volume PACES centre serving the Americas and based at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.’
Sharing more about her time as AGD for IMGs, Dr Anu Trehan said: ‘It has been a privilege to be an AGD for the Global team and clinical lead for overseas doctors on the MTI scheme. The past four years have seen major changes, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated rapid changes to how doctors were interviewed, initiated and supported during their 2-year training programme in the UK. This was a huge challenge, and I am pleased that these were designed and implemented while ensuring the traditions and founding ethical principles of MTI remained central to all the changes. The team and I increased the reach of the programme and provided equity and governance using electronic systems. I hope these new foundations contribute to my successor and team building the programme further into a world-class training fellowship for overseas doctors encouraging them to become future leaders and develop their local healthcare systems around the globe. My thanks to all in the Global team for their support – I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you.’
Learn more about the work of the Global team.