Harm Van Marwijk

Overview

Harm van Marwijk is a clinician, researcher, teacher and innovator. He is Professor of General Practice at the Division of Population Health, Health Services Research and Primary Care of the School of Health Sciences of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. He is particularly interested in connectedness, and this concept is a core value in Harm’s practice, in his teaching, and in his research. Harm believes that connections are necessary for all aspects of medical practice, including dealing with a patient’s symptoms, making a diagnosis, and managing a consultation and practice. These three elements come into play any time a patient walks into a doctor’s clinic, and all three need to be connected to one another given the mix of diverse, increasingly well-informed and frail patients that a general practitioner comes into contact. Unfortunately, today''s GP office tends towards fragmentation, to an overreliance on procedures, and to a lack of ownership. It is his belief that the thoughts, experiences and decisions of healthcare professionals need to be explored and acknowledged to improve decisions and provide good care.

Biography

Harm has combined clinical work and academics since graduating in medicine in 1985. He developed an interest in primary care and the role of those caring for older people while in medical school and his Ph.D. thesis was on ''depression in the elderly as seen in general practice'' within the Dutch ''Leadership in General Practice'' program. He completed this thesis in 1995. He spent the next twenty years as an associate professor at VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam. During this time, he taught general practice, consultation, and research skills. He joined the faculty at the University of Manchester in March 2015 as a Professor of General Practice.