Tom Roberts

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

After graduating I started on the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme on their Health Informatics stream. This involved working on digital implementation projects alongside clinical teams, and delivering operational services changes with specialty teams. I have since taken the role of Head of Outpatients, which is a joint operational and transformation role; I manage central teams such as the central booking office, operationally manage our outpatient departments, and am involved in numerous Trust-wide programmes of work to improve the outpatient care we give to patients.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

I have wanted to work in healthcare for a long time, and having amassed experience in a few different areas I think this has given me a solid and broad knowledge base to pursue a career in healthcare management. Improvement of healthcare services is a big driver for me, and what I enjoy in my role is that I get to be involved in both the large and the small scale changes, both of which can have a big impact on patients at an individual level.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

I began life as a medical student at Exeter and through that I was involved in various MedSoc offshoots, the main one being the medics hockey team which I captained in my second year. Throughout my time at Exeter I was also a member of the university darts society and held various roles on their committee, and had a lot of fun along the way!

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

In Medicine I liked that there was a clear focus on getting students into healthcare environments as early as possible, and also enjoyed the social aspect as it was a tight-knit community of medics. In my Masters programmes I enjoyed the smaller group focus and the flexibility to write about topics that interested me, and particularly on the MPH I loved the broad range of module topics, from statistics through to global health, which kept things interesting and gave a great broad understanding of what public health really means.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I initially chose to study in Exeter as I liked how their Medicine degree was structured, with early and continued clinical contact as well as more holistic approaches to medical teaching. I then stayed for my Masters in Exeter as I found the courses interesting and also because I found Exeter to be generally a very welcoming city, and one I had started to feel at home in, so it made total sense to me to keep studying here.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

The breadth of skills I picked up, particularly in my Masters have been hugely valuable in my career. Whether that is having an understanding of how to apply statistical methods in data work I have to do, knowledge of wider social determinants of health and their impacts on how we deliver care to patients, or simply in writing concisely and accurately about complex topics, I gained a lot of skills and knowledge through my programmes in Exeter.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

I would advise a current student that if you can focus your studies in some way around NHS care, that will really help you to understand its complexities and nuances that can be a real challenge for newcomers to the NHS. I would also say that showing initiative always goes a long way,, whether that is whilst studying or whilst in the world of work; there is a lot that can be gained by just asking to have a chat with someone whose work you find interesting.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to stay in the NHS (for now at least) and work my way into more senior operational management, and beyond that I think I would like to have a more strategic focus to my future roles once I have built up a base of experience managing within the NHS.