The HLA: The Ripple Effect

Podcast interview featuring The Healthcare Leadership Academy alumnus  Zac Hassan, who details his path from medical registrar to an aspiring political candidate. Hassan explains that The HLA provided the courage, practical skills, and collaborative environment required to develop his side project, the "Healthy Discussions" podcast. He firmly asserts that medical professionals must ventu...

This podcast captures a retrospective interview with  Eleanor Budge , an anesthetic registrar and former scholar of The Healthcare Leadership Academy (The HLA), discussing her professional trajectory since joining the programme in 2018. Budge describes how her early involvement in university  leadership roles prepared her for The HLA, where she acquired vital non-technical and  communication skill...

In this episode of The HLA Ripple Effect podcast, physician and academic Brian Wang talks about his wide-ranging professional journey. Wang reflects on his medical training at Cambridge and Imperial, his three-year PhD in cardiovascular sciences, and his upcoming role as an Academic Clinical Fellow in cardiology at Oxford. A significant part of the conversation centres on the creation and growth o...

Yammen Jabr , a rehabilitation medicine registrar and faculty member for The HLA, talks about his journey from an International Medical Graduate to his current role. Yamen explains that he joined The HLA early in his career to gain crucial training in separating leadership from management, a skill he found lacking in traditional clinical settings. The discussion outlines his shift from core surgic...

This podcast features an interview with  Axie Finch , who discusses her career progression and her experience with The HLA programme. She highlights the transformative impact of The HLA, particularly its role in encouraging her to advocate for patients and to challenge the status quo. Axie recounts her early frustration as a medical student, feeling like a “tiny fish in a big ocean”, and how The H...

Josephine Elliott, a paediatrician and former scholar from the third cohort of The Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA), reflects on her career journey and the impact of the programme. She recounts her initial reluctance to apply for The HLA, despite encouragement from a peer, because she felt unqualified. However, she explains how the programme significantly boosted her confidence and inspired her...

This podcast episode features an  interview with Ifan Jenkin , a former scholar of the  The Healthcare Leadership Academy . Ifan discusses his  unconventional career path  from medical school at Oxford, through early clinical training during the COVID-19 pandemic, and eventually to a master's programme in translational medicine at Stanford. He shares insights into his  decision to move beyond...

This podcast episode features an  interview with Ahmad Elmansouri , a former scholar of The HLA (Healthcare Leadership Academy) and  co-founder of The HLA Listen podcast . The conversation explores  Ahmad's journey through medicine , including his initial interest in surgery, his decision to pursue medical education and dermatology, and his  experiences living and training across the UK . The...

This episode features an interview with David Williams , a former Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) scholar. The conversation explores Williams' varied career path, including experiences in physiotherapy, the armed forces, and local politics, highlighting his passion for service and leadership. He discusses his journey with The HLA, emphasising the value of its diverse community and the space it...

This podcast features an interview with Hugo Layard Horsfall , a neurosurgery registrar and PhD candidate researching neurotechnology. He discusses his work on next-generation electrodes to understand brain information processing at a single-neuron level, its application in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and the challenges of translating this technology into clinical practice. Horsfall also ref...

Sida Mao, a former HLA scholar, reflects on his experiences in The Health Leadership Academy program and its lasting impact on his personal and professional development. Sid recounts his initial motivations for joining The HLA, the application process, and the key aspects of the programme he found transformative, such as the emphasis on leadership versus management, the power of influence, and ove...

Fasika Amdeslasie , a surgeon and healthcare leader from Tigray, Ethiopia. Fasika discusses his extensive career, including leadership roles during a wartime siege, and his participation in The HLA Scholars programme. He highlights the challenges of balancing clinical work with leadership responsibilities in a resource-scarce and politically unstable environment. The conversation reveals universal...

The Ripple Effect presents a podcast interview with Anne Meierkord , a former HLA scholar from the 2020 cohort who became a faculty member. The discussion explores her career journey, which includes working as a medical doctor in Berlin and a research scientist in health policy analysis, highlighting her unique perspective within the German healthcare system after studying medicine in a joint UK-G...

This episode of The Ripple Effect features an interview with Maredudd Harris , a former scholar from The Health Leadership Academy (HLA). Med discusses his career trajectory since joining The HLA, detailing his current radiology training with a focus on interventional radiology and a past fellowship in artificial intelligence. He reflects on his experiences, including leadership roles during medic...

Jacob Oguntimehin is an emergency medicine doctor and former Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) scholar. Jacob discusses his passion for equitable and efficient health systems, his journey into health policy and widening participation, and the significant impact of his social enterprise, The Aspiring Medic Support (TAMs). He recounts his initial ambition, the pivotal experience of his intercalate...

This podcast features an interview with Jim Determeijer, a global health PhD candidate and former HLA scholar. The conversation centres on Jim's unique journey, highlighting his experiences as one of the early international HLA scholars, his pivotal role in expanding The HLA's global reach, and his current PhD research on family participation in healthcare within resource-limited settings....

Marguerite O’Riordan , a junior doctor and HLA (Healthcare Leadership Academy) scholar, discusses her leadership journey and her project, Political Medics UK . She explores the project's origins within The HLA, its aims to educate and engage medics in medical politics, and its successes, such as establishing a national network and creating e-learning materials. She also reflects on challenges...

This episode features an interview with Riddhi Shenoy , a 2019 Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) scholar. Riddhi recounts her early years at university, her unexpected entry into a management BSc programme—which sparked her interest in leadership—and her somewhat accidental application to The HLA, which turned out to be a surprisingly impactful experience. She discusses how The HLA programme and...

This episode of The Ripple Effect features an interview with Dina Saleh , a member of the first London cohort of HLA scholars. The discussion explores Dina's motivations for joining The HLA as a medical student interested in leadership, her positive experiences within the programme, the lasting friendships she formed, and her subsequent career path in clinical oncology. The conversation also r...

This episode of The Ripple Effect is a recorded conversation with Asha Thompson MBE , a former HLA scholar who became a cohort director. The discussion explores Asha's unconventional career path, marked by diverse experiences from retail and beauty therapy to dentistry and clinical leadership, culminating in her current role in NHS England. Asha reflects on her initial involvement with The HLA...

This podcast features Jahangir Alom BEM , a medical doctor and HLA alumnus, as he discusses his career journey. Jingy’s story highlights how he overcame significant socioeconomic disadvantages to become a successful physician and a passionate advocate for health equity. He emphasises the importance of seizing opportunities—even when feeling unqualified—and building genuine relationships to create...

The Ripple Effect  podcast, hosted by Johann Malawana, introduces The Health Leadership Academy (HLA)  community by featuring stories from alumni. The HLA focuses on  empowering individual clinical leaders ,  nurturing their leadership potential , and  fostering frontline innovation  across various healthcare systems globally. It offers a  competitive programme  emphasising community, networking,...