OM elected as 122nd President of the RCP
Posted on: April 20th 2022School News
Congratulations to OM Professor David Oliver (77-84) who, on 11th April 2022, was elected as the 122nd President of the Royal College of Physicians of London - an organisation founded in 1518 - only 3 years after MGS. The RCP is a medical membership organisation and registered charity, with over 40,000 members and 30 medical specialties and his election is the result of a 33 year medical career that was kick-started when Professor Oliver went to Oxford to read Medicine in 1984, having entered MGS at the age of 11.
Professor Oliver spoke about his journey into Medicine which started at MGS: "Before passing the entrance examinations, I had been a pupil at Northenden County Primary School, where my teachers suggested to my parents that I had the ability to pass them and that MGS would be the best place to meet my educational needs. This was the first year after the abolition of direct grant grammar schools and my father ended up putting aside his ideological opposition to private education and supporting me to apply. One of my brothers, Andrew subsequently attended and also went to Oxford to read English Literature".
He spoke with passion and gratitude about his MGS teaching: "I am grateful to my primary school teachers for spotting my potential but I will remain grateful till my dying day for what my time at MGS gave me. The values, the academic discipline and study habits, the series of inspiring teachers, the ability of the boys around me and the range of extracurricular activities gave me the confidence for the 6 years at Medical School, the 9 years as a junior hospital doctor in various places around England and the series of postgraduate exams and qualifications that took me to my first consultant physician job in 1998. MGS not only supplied many undergraduates at Oxbridge and Russell Group Universities in my time but, as it still does, many boys choosing to read Medicine". Professor Oliver spoke fondly about his form teachers Ian Thorpe, Chris Johnson to name just a few, and remembered Wilf the Head Porter with tremendous afffection.
Professor Oliver maintained a steady balance between academia and sports, running for the Cross Country and Athletics Teams, captaining both. He also played some 2nds team cricket, was a regular at the Whitsun camps, played trumpet in the orchestra and band and had numerous trips out the Owl's nest.
He spoke with fervour about his Northern roots: "Although I now work and live in the South East of England, I remain not just a very proud O.M. , but a very proud Mancunian. I come back home often - and not just for the City matches. The School is very much part of the City's fabric and pride in Manchester and the North West was drummed into us".
Professor Oliver has had a varied career, but has always shared knowledge and expertise with those around him: "In my career as a Physician specialising in Geriatrics and General Internal Medicine, i have always combined my clinical day job with other roles - including National Clinical Director in the Department of Health, President of the British Geriatrics Society, a University Senior Lecturer, and Visiting Professor, an academic researcher, a medical journalist including 7 years writing columns in the British Medical Journal as well as various newspapers and formerly the Clinical Vice President of the RCP London.
"My new role is a wide ranging one and the RCP Strategic priorities are 'Educating and Supporting Physicians throughout their careers', 'Improving health and healthcare' and 'Influencing the way health services are designed and delivered'. It comes at a time when the NHS faces a series of wicked problems around workforce gaps, pressures on acute care, recovery of all the planned care cancelled during the Covid pandemic and major health inequalities in the population".
He concluded by saying: "I will have my hands full, but the grounding I got at MGS is a good start".
We are very grateful to OM Professor Oliver for offering to share his experiences with the MGS community, and especially as he seeks to give back to the community which helped provide him with a strong grounding for his career so far.