Miss Marina Pitsika

Marina is a senior neurosurgery trainee (ST7) in the North East of England with an interest in paediatric neurosurgery. She studied medicine in Greece at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Prior to entering neurosurgery training, she completed the Core Surgical Training in Plymouth, followed by a year of research in paediatric neurosurgery at the Bristol Children's Hospital. She is the chair of the British Neurosurgery Trainee Association and has been the trainee representative for Ebrain since March 2022. Recently she was awarded an MSc in Strategic Leadership in Public Services with the University of Northumbria, with a distinction, and is a Level 7 Senior Leader as recognised by the Chartered Management Institute. The Management Investigation that was completed during the degree was "An investigation of the mechanisms by which increased doctor participation on UK hospital boards can have a positive impact on hospital performance, quality, and patient outcomes".

Reason for applying for the scheme

Marina has been developing her leadership skills since the early days of her medical career, using every opportunity to represent her peers on committees, take initiatives towards establishing educational events, be involved as a trainee representative in the Joint Neurosciences Council charity, and leading service improvement projects. She aspires to continue her leadership career which currently continues to develop through her most recent appointment as the chair of the British Neurosurgery Trainee Association. This clinical fellowship, will allow her to put in practice the knowledge obtained through the MSc, receive feedback from senior leaders and managers on her ability to develop a strategy, take initiatives, lead teams, develop policies, while working with a variety of healthcare stakeholders within the system. She has been strongly supportive of the role of clinicians as senior leaders, something that has been further supportive by her management investigation during her MSc. She wants to continue equipping herself with both the theoretical and practical foundations needed to become a senior leader both within her speciality and on a larger scale. The experience obtained through the fellowship, will allow her to continue working towards improving the service provision, quality of care and collaboration between the stakeholders of her training host organisation and the wider system. Lastly, it would be great opportunity to network, connect with people from a variety of organizations and backgrounds, collaborate and learn from them while investing on relationships that can be proven to be very valuable in the future.