24th September 2026
Students as Partners
Led by Charlie Thompson
Charlie Thompson is a fifth-year medical student at the University of Plymouth.
From 2024–26, he served first as Education Lead and subsequently President of the Student Torbay Medical Society (STorMS), working closely with Torbay Hospital’s Medical Education faculty to develop new teaching and training opportunities for local students.
Raised on a cattle farm in rural Northern Ireland and later becoming a hobbyist photographer with an interest in lens optics, Charlie found this unusual combination of experience unexpectedly useful in surgical education.
What began with sourcing animal tissues matched to particular operative skills developed into increasingly sophisticated simulation models, including an affordable binocular microscope for microsurgical training that has since also been used in registrar education across the South West.
At Torbay, this and many other projects were made possible by a Medical Education faculty willing to place trust in students and provide both practical support and access to expertise.
Working in partnership with clinicians and educators, STorMS developed a broad programme of medical and surgical teaching and training, delivering dozens of sessions and hosting six conferences over the past two years.
These received national recognition, with delegates travelling from across the UK to attend.
This evening’s session, Students as Partners, will explore what can happen when motivated students are given the support and infrastructure to turn ideas into meaningful projects.
Charlie will be joined by other local medical students presenting two further prize-winning projects from the 2026 STorMS Undergraduate Medical Conference: one tackling disparities in students’ access to project supervisors by matching them with experienced clinicians who share their academic and clinical interests, and another examining the environmental impact of inpatient insulin prescribing.
Together, the presentations will highlight the breadth of opportunities available to students at Torbay, the role of an engaged Medical Education faculty in making these possible, and the importance of the Torquay & District Medical Society’s ongoing involvement in supporting, recognising and rewarding student work through the STorMS Undergraduate Medical Conference.
Join us to hear from the next generation of Torbay doctors...
29th October 2026
Rural Generalism, Telemedicine and
the Royal Flying Doctor Service
Dr Oliver Dodd
Dr Oliver Dodd is a Rural Generalist and Emergency physician.
He works at Musgrove Park hospital and provides emergency telehealth services for Western Australia.
Dr Dodd trained at Kings College, London and went on to serve with the Royal Army Medical Corps before moving overseas where he trained as a Rural GP Anaesthetist and an Emergency Physician.
Oliver now lives in Devon with his wife and animals.
His talk will provide an introduction to Rural Generalism, explain the work and history of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and give an insight to Oliver's role in telemedicine for Western Australia.
Join us to hear more about the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Oliver's work with them.
26th November 2026
Did the Phoenicians Reach America Before Christopher Columbus?
Philip Beale, FRGS
Philip Beale, FRGS, explores the groundbreaking Phoenicians Before Columbus expedition, which aimed to test this bold hypothesis by recreating a transatlantic crossing in a replica Phoenician vessel.
Drawing on archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence, Philip examines the possibility that these ancient mariners reached the Americas, leaving behind subtle but tantalizing traces.
With vivid imagery and expert insights, this presentation invites audiences to reconsider the boundaries of ancient exploration.
Philip is an adventurer, sailor, writer and motivational speaker.
He has led three international Kon-Tiki type expeditions, including the Borobudur Ship expedition, sailing an Indonesian double outrigger vessel from Java to Madagascar and around the Cape of Good Hope to Ghana , gaining the President of Indonesia’s award for Services to Indonesian Culture.
In 2008-10 he commissioned the Phoenicia – a replicate of a Phoenician galley - to retrace the first circumnavigation of Africa by the Phoenicians, as described by Herodotus.
In 2019-20, Philip created the Phoenicians Before Columbus Expedition to show that the Phoenicians could have reached the Americas Before Columbus.
Philip is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Scientific Exploration Society and is a member of their Honorary Advisory Board.
Join us to hear Philip Beale's tantalising story of ancient mariners and his present day expeditions to emulate their achievements.
28th January 2027
Psychosomatic (or related) Illnesses
Dr Marie Jasim
Join us for a relaxed tour of the changing story of what is now termed Functional Neurological Disorder.
We trace its evolution from historical ideas of “hysteria” through to more modern neurological and psychiatric frameworks. How have explanations for these symptoms shifted over time, reflecting the dominant medical and cultural ideas of the day?
The session will revisit some key figures and turning points in this history, including nineteenth-century neurology, psychoanalytic ideas, and later diagnostic classifications.
It will also reflect on how terminology has changed, from “hysteria” and “conversion disorder” to contemporary concepts of functional neurological symptoms.
Although understanding of Functional Neurological Disorder has advanced considerably, the story remains unfinished.
The talk will use this topic as a way to think about how medicine responds to uncertainty, contested diagnoses, and symptoms that sit uneasily between specialties.
Dr Marie Jasim is a Clinical Research Fellow in Neurology at Torbay Hospital, with interests in Functional Neurological Disorder, neurorehabilitation, and medical education.
Alongside her clinical and research work, she has an interest in the history and evolving understanding of functional neurological symptoms, and is committed to improving recognition and care for this often misunderstood patient group.
25th February 2027
Diving Medicine and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Dr Doug Watt
Dr Doug Watts is Medical Director of DDRC Healthcare (formerly Diving Diseases Research Centre).
DDRC provides hyperbaric treatment in the South West and also runs the diving accident helpline, providing hyperbaric and diving medicine advice to clinicians and divers nationally.
From recreational scuba diving to saturation divers living under pressure for weeks at a time on the seabed, this talk explores what happens to the human body in one of the most hostile environments on earth.
Dr Watts will cover pressure, how things go wrong, and what decompression illness actually looks like when a diver walks (or is wheeled…) into the emergency department.
The talk will cover iatrogenic gas embolism, a condition that is probably more common than we think and one that any hospital doctor could encounter.
A real case will show how a routine dialysis session led to cardiac arrest, neurological collapse, and ultimately a full recovery thanks to prompt recognition and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Doug will round off with a look at some of the other clinical uses of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and which indications have evidence behind them and which don’t.
Join us to hear Doug's overview of this important but very different branch of the medical profession.
1st April 2027
Watercress Research
Dr Kyle Stewart
Dr Kyle Stewart is a GP partner in South Devon as well as the co-founder of Watercress Research Ltd.
Over the last 12 years he and his co-founder Professor Paul Winyard have been researching the beneficial clinical effects of watercress.
Kyle will cover the history of Watercress Research Ltd, the development of Watercress Active as their key extract, the development of the initial Prof & Doc skincare regime and the subsequent development of their retail ready products.
He will look at some of the newer models of testing cosmetic and skin products including Labskin and shotgun proteomics, and how these can give us a much deeper level of understanding mechanisms of action.
Kyle completed an intercalated degree in Medical Sciences, and his Medical degree at The University of Birmingham from 2004-2010.
He has a particular interest in theoretical medicine, for which he still holds an honorary post at The University of Exeter.
Kyle is a keen fisherman and powerlifter.
Having been accepted into Boots and Holland & Barrett for July 2026, expect to hear some very exciting developments in this April 2027 talk!