Speakers
Mark Bowditch
Professor Amar Rangan
Jocelyn Cornwell
Esther Murray
Kyle Jeray
Scarlett McNally
BOA Session
[Session recording not yet available]
Session Title: Healing the healers – Addressing moral injury and fostering just culture in healthcare
Session Description: This session explores the critical and often overlooked topic of moral injury in healthcare with a focus upon the current challenges within the NHS. Moral injury occurs when surgeons are unable to provide care aligned with their ethical standards due to systemic pressures, resource constraints or conflicting institutional demands. Unlike burnout, moral injury stems from a profound sense of ethical dissonance which can lead to long-term psychological harm.
We will examine how a Just Culture – one that supports open reporting, learning from errors and fair accountability can serve as a vital framework for addressing moral injury. Through real-world examples we will explore how Trauma and Orthopaedic teams can shift from a blame-based culture to one that prioritises psychological safety, compression and shared responsibility.
Whether you are a surgeon, educator or leader, this session will equip you to champion a more supportive, transparent and ethically grounded healthcare environment.
Agenda:
10:35 - 10:40 Chair Introduction Mark Bowditch and Amar Rangan
10:40 - 10:55 “Why are you so annoying?” Susan Alexander (President of Independent Doctors Federation)
10:55 - 11:15 Facing the challenges of the NHS for patients and staff Jocelyn Cornwell
11:15 - 11:30 Moral injury – Why? How? What can be done? Esther Murray
11:30 - 11:45 Awesome perioperative teamworking – how to build joy at work Scarlett McNally
11:45 - 12:00 Servant leadership through adversity Kyle Jeray
Mark is a Consultant and Divisional Clinical Director MSK & surgical specialties at ESNEFT (Ipswich & Colchester Hospitals) since 2000. Mark’s specialist interests are in surgery of the knee and all levels of surgical education.
He was Chair of the SAC 2017-2020 leading the new curriculum changes, East of England Training Programme Director for 11 years, and is currently Head of School of Surgery. Following three years on BOA Council and one year on the Orthopaedic Committee he joined the Executive as Honorary Treasurer in 2020/21 and is now Vice President.
Prof Amar Rangan holds the Mary Kinross Trust and Royal College of Surgeons Chair at Hull York Medical School (HYMS) and Department of Health Sciences, University of York.
He is a specialist shoulder and elbow surgeon at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Middlesbrough, providing district and tertiary services in his specialty.
He also holds a full professorship with the faculty of medical sciences and NDORMS, University of Oxford.
Amar has held key national leadership roles: President of the British Elbow and Shoulder Society, trustee of the British Orthopaedic Association, and surgeon member of the National Joint Registry Steering Committee.
Amar is a designated supervisor for HYMS integrated academic training and supervises pre-doctoral and doctoral studentships.
He is fellowship director for the nationally accredited shoulder and elbow fellowship at South Tees Hospitals and is course director for the postgraduate MCh(Orth) programme in Teesside.
Amar leads a programme of clinical and translational research, including NIHR funded multi-centre clinical trials.
He has published widely in trauma and orthopaedics, particularly in shoulder and elbow surgery, where his work has influenced clinical practice, national guidelines, and policy.
He is chair of MedConnectNorth and is a member of the NIHR i4i Challenge Awards Committee.
Jocelyn is the founder of The Point of Care Foundation (www.pointofcarefoundation.or.guk) a charity that works to make the experience of healthcare better for patients and staff. She is the Chair of Action against Medical Accidents (www.avma.org.uk).
Originally trained as a medical sociologist and ethnographer, she spent many years in and around the NHS as a locality manager, a senior civil servant and in regulation, at the Audit Commission and the Commission for Health Improvement.
She has served as a trustee of charities, including Connect UK, the communication disability network; the Picker Institute; the Mental Health Foundation and most recently, the Nuffield Trust. In January 2025, she received an MBE for services to patients’ experience of care and patient safety.
Esther has been a health psychologist for 18 years, initially working in cardiac care both in service improvement and psychological interventions for patients, later going on to a career in academia training psychologists, and later, medical students.
Her early research was in chronic pain and its effect on doctor-patient communication. Esther has previous experience in psychological intervention in cardiac care and training NHS staff in communication skills.
Esther is the first researcher in the UK to explore the concept of moral injury in medicine. Since being invited to present on the topic of Moral Injury at the Institute of Pre-hospital Care Performance Psychology Symposium in June 2017, she has been invited to present at national and international conferences for both healthcare professionals, educators and students. She has delivered training to paramedics, medics, and police in the area of moral injury and psychological wellbeing at work. She has been a guest on a number of podcasts and some short films on the topic.
Dr Kyle Jeray is a graduate of the University of Illinois School of Medicine in Chicago. He completed his Orthopedic Surgery Residency at the Greenville Health System, now Prisma Health–Upstatein Greenville, South Carolina and, subsequently did his Orthopedic Traumatology fellowship at the Carolinas Medical Center, in Charlotte, North Carolina under the direction of Drs. James F. Kellam and Michael Bosse. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Jeray joined the faculty of Prisma Health–Upstate. Dr. Jeray is currently the Chair of for the Department of Orthopedics Surgery at Prisma Health–Upstate. He is a clinical professor in the Clemson University School of Health Research and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Clemson University.
Dr. Jeray's research has focused upon the care of patients with musculoskeletal injuries. His clinical interests include the management of open fracture wounds, osteoporosis, complex upper extremity fractures, fractures of the pelvis and acetabulum and motor vehicle and motorcycle accident related injuries. He has also collaborated with a number of basic science researchers on multiple projects related to orthopedic biomaterials, biomechanics and driving performance after injury.
Professor Scarlett McNally is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon in Eastbourne, UK (since 2002), Deputy Director of the Centre for Perioperative Care (Find FREE resources at www.cpoc.org.uk), Honorary Clinical Professor at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, President of the Medical Women’s Federation and previously an elected Council member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2011-2021). She has an MA in Clinical Education and an MBA in health service management. BMJ columnist – all FREE at https://www.bmj.com/search/advanced/mcnally
Frequent speaker and regular writer. She was lead author for the Academy’s Exercise the miracle cure. She has published on careers, diversity, bullying, sustainability, perioperative care, myeloma, exercise and how to fix the NHS. Eg: preparation for surgery can reduce complications by 50%. Publications at www.scarlettmcnally.co.uk and Twitter @scarlettmcnally.
Ms Susan Alexander is a Consultant Shoulder Surgeon at Fortius Clinic in London.
As current President of the Independent Doctors' Federation (IDrF), she is a leading advocate for clinician-led independent healthcare reform, championing the interests of doctors working in the private sector and promoting excellent standards of patient care.
Alongside her surgical work, Susan is a qualified professional coach, dedicated to helping clinicians navigate the human side of medicine, including managing difficult people and complex workplace dynamics that often fall outside the scope of formal training. She supports individuals and teams in finding clarity, building confidence, and performing at their best in high-pressure environments.