Professor Russell Hearn MB BS, MSc., MRCGP, FAWM, FAcadMEd, SFHEA

Biography

Professor Hearn is the Deputy Director of Community Education and the Stage 3 GP Block lead for the MBBS curriculum. He is the programme lead for our intercalated BSc in Primary Care. He is also the module lead for Doctor as Teacher for Stage 2 medical students. Outside of King's Professor Hearn is a GP partner in North London as well as Dean of Primary Care working with Health Education England, London. Professor Hearn is from Newcastle upon Tyne and studied medicine at UCL prior to training as a GP in North London. His primary research interests are in medical education. He also has specialist interests in simulation, access to medicine, pre-hospital medicine and wilderness & expedition medicine. Professor Hearn was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship in 2022 for innovations delivered in clinical education.

In response to Covid, he led Primary Care Hot Services across North Central London and then developed a unique vaccination service which was jointly designed with KCL students. The vaccine service has delivered almost 200,000 vaccines so far with the majority of vaccines given by KCL students from medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy. The service was supported by volunteer students and faculty from across KCL. With a particular focus on improving vaccine uptake, the service held popup clinics at mosques, churches, schools, foodbanks and community centres. Professor Hearn also led the mass vaccination events at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which delivered over 7000 vaccines in one day. After a visit from the Prime Minister and the announcement of a target to offer the public a booster by Christmas 2021 KCL students and staff at Morris House Group Practice delivered the UK’s first 24-hour Jabathon vaccinating several thousands of patients overnight. The impact of the work of KCL students and Professor Hearn were recognised with a Health Society Journal (HSJ) Award in 2022.