Terry Kemple

Terry Kemple (HF 1993-4) had been working as a full-time NHS general practitioner in Bristol for ten years before he applied for a Harkness Fellowship. A friend who worked at Cumberland Lodge, where Harkness Fellows met for conferences, encouraged him to apply, as it matched his interests in challenging the status quo, making improvements, and taking sabbaticals. At Harvard, he focused on “How to improve the performance of physicians,” with a particular interest in recertification of a doctor’s competence. After returning to the UK, he continued in full-time general practice and took on many leadership roles, including teaching, training, research, management, appraisals, building premises, launching a GP Out-of-Hours cooperative, gaining Fellowship of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) by assessment, achieving the RCGP Quality Practice Award three times, founding a multi-practice federation, and starting the Green Impact for Health in General Practice project. During his final sabbatical, he explored how one can “find and spread best practice faster,” and concluded  everyone needs to  “find themselves a better network.” He was elected President of the RCGP from 2015-2017, and in 2018 he ran for the presidency of the Royal College of Physicians but finished last. He has since held various roles promoting sustainability in healthcare and continues to lead the Green Impact for Health project.