The BNMS could be good for your health!

Countless psychology studies have investigated the underlying factors which support happiness and wellbeing. One such factor is gratitude. Gratitude is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as ‘a strong feeling of appreciation to someone or something for what the person has done to help you’, and that sums up how I feel about the part the BNMS and the people I have through it have played in my life and career. 

I first attended a BNMS conference in the early 90s, when I worked as a trainee Radiopharmacist at what was then Dudley Road Hospital in Birmingham. The conference was held at Imperial College, London – and was in fact, the last of a number of meetings held there. I remember sitting in the various sessions in awe of everyone – not just the presenters, but also the audience. The interactions, questions and debate coming from the audience totally impressed, and slightly terrified me. I so wanted to put my hand up and comment but was too shy in those early days. However, BNMS is full of people like Dr. Keith Harding, past BNMS President and my first Consultant back at Dudley Road - innovative, questioning, clever but also down-to earth and encouraging. I continued to be involved in BNMS through the rest of my time in Birmingham, whilst at Leicester Royal Infirmary and at the Royal Free Hospital, and then when back in Birmingham once more. I was so lucky to work with some wonderful people in each of these places. I grew in confidence and with the help of the BNMS, enjoyed not only learning about the wider world of Nuclear Medicine, but also making useful contacts both with other Nuclear Medicine professionals and with Industry colleagues. 

The BNMS is about a lot more that the conferences it puts on – although these are great, as anyone who managed to join us in Harrogate will hopefully attest to. It is about a unique community of professionals, all working together to achieve the same goals and all respecting the part they all play in the care of patients. It’s about all those Technologists and Radiographers who put the patient at ease, ensure the scans are of suitable diagnostic quality and much much more. It’s about the Radiopharmacy staff who work to ensure safe, effective and high quality Radiopharmacy services are provided. The Physicists who ensure our cameras are working to their optimum capability and that we are working safely within the boundaries of good radiation protection, for example. It’s the nurses and support workers who care for our patients whilst they are in our departments, and our doctors who ensure the test the patient receives is suitable as well as providing that important final report. Of course, all the people I mentioned do many other things, but the point I’m trying to make is that everyone plays an equally important part in the care, diagnosis and ultimately treatment of the patient. And I think that’s pretty unique, and to be frank, pretty fantastic. 

BNMS does many things behind the scenes to help and support our community. Elected council members, co-opted experts and our wonderful BNMS staff help provide guidance and leadership - you may have read some of our guidance documents and I hope you have found them useful. One which springs to mind is the guidance developed during the first COVID lockdown. BNMS worked with colleagues from all our different disciplines to pull together practical advice for how to manage our services during that challenging time. We represent the interests of our Nuclear Medicine community to government – for example, in trying to mitigate the potential impact of Brexit on our services.  More recently we have been working to put together a manifesto for PET CT commissioning, and going forward, I hope that we will play a key role in further developing Molecular Radiotherapy (MRT) services in the UK. We really are living in exciting times, and I feel we are on the cusp of something potentially game changing for many of our patients. There has never been a better time to work in Nuclear Medicine. 

So, I’d like to end my first newsletter article as BNMS President by bring this back to gratitude and the impact it has on health. I would like to say thank you to the BNMS for the opportunities it has afforded me. I’d like to say thank you to all the Radiopharmacists, Physicists, Nurses, Support Workers, Technologists, Radiographers and Doctors I have met, not only in the various departments I’ve worked but also through the BNMS, for their help, encouragement and friendship. 

Thank you. Two small words, but a very big meaning. 

As I said when I had the President’s baton handed over to me in Harrogate, I feel very grateful and very healthy! I sincerely hope that reading this prompts you to reflect on your BNMS experiences, and that you go home tonight feeling the same. Please consider joining us at the Autumn meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine (Wimpole Street, London) on Tuesday 31st October  for another dose of health and happiness!