BSMS > About BSMS > Alumni > Alumni in focus Harri Lewis-Henery

Alumni in Focus - Harri Lewis-Henery

Harri Lewis-Henery (Physician Associate Studies 2018)

Harri Lewis-Henery, PA Alumna, wearing her scrubs and standing and smiling at the camera

Harri was in the very first cohort of Physician Associate Studies students at BSMS.

She has been working for Epsom and St Helier Emergency Departments since October 2018 and is currently seconded as Emergency Department PA Lead.

What have you been up to since you graduated from BSMS?

I loved my time down in BSMS and it was an amazing experience being a part of the very first cohort! After graduating and passing my Nationals I moved from Sussex to Wimbledon and have been working at Epsom and St Helier Emergency Departments since October 2018. As well as working regularly in all areas of the Emergency Departments I am currently seconded as the Emergency Department PA Lead. Life has been very busy with management and clinical work, but I love our departments and the team I work with!

Do you have any particular specialties or areas of interest?

I wasn’t expecting my favourite placement during PA studies to be Emergency Medicine! I spent a few weeks in ED at Eastbourne District General Hospital and then chose it as my elective placement. I still vividly remember my first cardiac arrest and a number of really interesting cases that really shaped my career. I loved Eastbourne and the ‘family’ feel of a district general hospital which made it a no brainer to apply for Epsom and St Helier.

Resus is always my favourite place to work in and I really enjoy working under either the EM Registrar or EM Consultant and learn so much from their experience. The reward of systematically assessing acutely unwell patients, prioritising, multi-tasking, collaboration and sometimes fairly pressurised/fast-paced environment is strangely energising!

Above all the reward is the patient contact. Interacting with different walks of life and different presentations you never feel bored and have endless encounters and stories which I will never forget and is my main incentive to come to work.

What are you particularly proud of in your career so far?

The pandemic completely changed my outlook both personally and professionally. It was a really unique time of such a novel disease which we knew nothing about! 2020 made me really fall in love with being a Physician Associate and working as part of a team in Emergency Medicine. The importance of teamwork and wellbeing became really important to me. I have done some wellbeing work with positive event reporting and listening events which I am really proud of.

What advice do you have for recent graduates?

One of my favourite parts of being a Seconded Lead has been the recruitment of PAs for the Emergency Departments. Genuine enthusiasm, interest and honesty really shines through both application and interview whilst utilising good examples. For entering life as a qualified PA my advice is continuing your hard work, but, remembering you now (finally!) have a life outside studying so use your annual leave well! Those first two years I travelled to California, Greece, Spain, Malta, Luxembourg, and my favourite – Wales.

What or who inspires you in your job or personal life?

In my job it has to be the PAs at our Trust who are truly the most amazing ambassadors and examples of our profession. I have to also recognise our Lead, our Ambassadors and the PAs who have been around for 5-10+ years and understand our role and scope and have effectively paved the way for us.

And personally, for me it has to be my husband! It is rather annoying that he has a much more interesting job than me… The Met have faced a lot of scrutiny over the past few years and a lot of criticism, and I have to say his day-to-days are so much harder and demanding than mine. The convictions he has secured as a detective of some really serious and brutal crimes in such testing times is inspiring.

What are your hopes for the future of PAs?

I feel so fortunate that we are fully embraced as part of the MDT in our Emergency Departments. I feel confident that we will all one day be embraced and appreciated just as I feel in ED at ESTH. I think it’s important to recognise important questions regarding our profession have been asked but I do feel assured that our role in patient care will be accepted and appreciated.