Professor Bijan Modarai inspires future medics at St Benedict's
Vascular surgeon Professor Bijan Modarai (a St Benedict’s alumnus) talked to aspiring medics about his work.
Professor Modarai, Chair of Vascular Surgery at King's College London and a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Senior Clinical Research Fellow, gave a deeply insightful and inspirational talk to potential medics at St Benedict’s.
A sense of Professor Modarai’s unfailing kindness, his compassion for his patients and his humility was evident as he spoke about his role as a vascular surgeon.
He discussed the importance of work-life balance and the value of family as a counterpoint to the stress of an intensive daily and weekly schedule.
By travelling extensively, Professor Modarai brings his experience and insight to the wider medical research community.
Professor Modarai has far-reaching plans for the future, setting up a centre of excellence in association with the British Heart Foundation and King’s College London. We wish him well and look forward to keeping up with future developments in this fascinating field of medicine and science.
Mrs D. O’Connor (Head of Chemistry)
Professor Modarai highlighted the importance of exploring every avenue and giving things a go; often, there is a perfect niche for you, and you just need to find it.
Professor Bijan Modarai spoke to us about his experience working as a vascular surgeon and telling us about his role within the British Heart Foundation. Alongside this, he discussed his journey from being a St Benedict’s pupil to becoming the man he is today. He shared with us the determination and strength of mind it takes to remain resilient in the face of challenge as a doctor, but also the value of communication and being empathetic to those in your care. Moreover, we explored the vastness of medicine and the plethora of pathways it can take you on, and what led him to his particular expertise. Here, Professor Modarai highlighted the importance of exploring every avenue and giving things a go; often, there is a perfect niche for you, and you just need to find it. His pride in working for the NHS shone throughout the talk; he emphasised the fundamental idea of any person being able to receive the care and attention they need from a skilled doctor whatever their background. Finally, he spoke about the significance of his role as a research scientist, and as someone who mentors others to get to where he is now: both of these things give him a great feeling of fulfilment as they are vital for the future of medicine. We ended the talk with an intriguing discussion on the future of the medicine and the NHS as a whole.
Milly McCosker (Year 11)
His pride in working for the NHS shone throughout the talk; he emphasised the fundamental idea of any person being able to receive the care and attention they need from a skilled doctor whatever their background.
Having Professor Modarai come in to speak to us about his career, and how he specialises in aortic aneurysms, was a wonderful experience. For me personally, I feel that it allowed me to connect with my aspirations of becoming a medic. The devotion he had for his work and the future plans he hopes to pursue in his specialist field were very enlightening. On top of his work as a doctor, Professor Modarai's connection with the British Heart Foundation for research is an empowering aspect of his career as he explores ways to prevent and cure heart disease. All of this is done out of his love for his own work and for others, which I found admirable. Overall, having him come in and take the time out of his busy schedule was an incredible opportunity that stirred my passion for the field of medicine, as I’m sure it did the same for the others.
Maisa Abed (Year 12)