Royal College of Physicians elects St John’s Alumnus Dr Andrew Goddard as President
"I am humbled that the fellows of the RCP have elected me and I will do my best to live up to their expectations."
Last week the Royal College of Physicians elected Dr Andrew Goddard as their new president.
Dr Andrew Goddard, a graduate of St John’s College, will take over from the current president, Jane Dacre, in September of this year.
In the close-run election nine candidates stood for the position and 5,082, were cast - the highest number of votes ever in a presidential election at the Royal College of Physicians. Dr Goddard won with 2,313 votes, which was 597 more than the nearest candidate.
On hearing the results, Andrew Goddard said he would give his all to the demanding role. “I am humbled that the fellows of the RCP have elected me and I will do my best to live up to their expectations. There are challenging years ahead but we have a great team here and we can achieve a great deal.”
Dr Andrew Goddard
The Royal College of Physicians is the oldest medical college in England.
Dr Goddard graduated from St John’s College in 1990 with a degree in Medical Sciences. He stayed in the East Anglia region after graduation, working as a junior doctor and senior house officer in in Cambridge, Norwich, and Bury St Edmunds. He then moved to Nottingham to do his MD on Helicobacter pylori treatment and shortly afterwards went onto the Mid-Trent gastroenterology training rotation working in Nottingham, Lincoln and Derby. In 2001 Dr Goddard was appointed as a consultant physician to the Derby City Hospital (now called the Royal Derby Hospital).
Dr Goddard has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and review articles and is the lead author for the national guidelines on iron deficiency anaemia, and gastric polyps. His current research interests are iron deficiency anaemia, bowel cancer screening and Barrett’s oesophagus. His main clinical interests are inflammatory bowel disease and bowel cancer screening – he is clinical lead for the Derbyshire bowel screening programme.
He first became involved with the Royal College of Physicians in 2003, when he was elected onto the New Consultants Committee which he later chaired between 2005 and 2007. Since then he has also acted as the director of the Medical Workforce unit (2008-2013), and as College lead on the EU initiative known as the European Working Time Directive.
The Royal College of Physicians is the oldest medical college in England. It was started in 1518 and quickly became a pioneering institution, setting the first international standard in the classification of diseases. To this day it is the leading professional body for physicians in the UK and its current membership is now 34,000 strong. On taking up the position in September, Dr Goddard will be the College’s 121st president.
Published: 06/04/18