Dr Flora Smyth Zahra

Flora Smyth Zahra is a restorative dentist with a background in general dental practice and teaches undergraduate Periodontology, Prevention and Integrated Clinical Care.

With a Masters in Clinical Education and a degree also in English Literature, her most significant contribution to King’s College London has been in the field of education, particularly cross-paradigmatic, interdisciplinary approaches to clinical education and curriculum innovation. This has been recognised by colleagues both locally and further afield. She has pioneered embedding arts and humanities in dentistry and across Health professions’ curricula both in the UK and the US. Flora conceived the innovative Clinical Humanities initiative which has subsequently been adopted elsewhere and continues to be developed at King’s.

In 2018 she became the first UK dentist to be selected for any Harvard Macy Institute course and is a Design Partner Fellow of the inaugural Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship.

External roles

Flora sits on the Education Council of the Academy of Medical Educators (UK) is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the Values -based practice group at St Catherine’s College Oxford.

Research interests

Flora is particularly interested in transformational learning in the higher education context and developing curricula that are inclusive and nurture; clinician wellbeing, personal development and professional identity formation for the complexity of delivering 21st century health care; holistic, socio-cultural learning to support humanistic, person- centred care, cultivate leadership skills and promote advocacy against health inequalities and inequities.