Director & CEO - Bespoke Clinical Research *** Leader - Strategist - Collaborator - Innovator
Reflect – Remediate – Renew – the year that was 2024. Short version? Lots of change = lots of good, & reflection's been a recurring theme (ELF + CSIRO +…) *Reflect* - workwise, I think researchers are lucky that, despite exploration of the unknown being literally inherent to the job, the continual upheaval actually offers us constant opportunities to reflect on what matters to us. Simply put, for me its collaborating with “good apples” to create meaningful real-world improvements across all areas of health, & that has been the absolute centre of my days this year. Lifewise, my increased flexibility in 2024 has made life not just easier to manage but enhanced the quality of my relationships with friends & family. Yes running my own business full-time obv requires strange hours & intense multitasking, but then so has every other role I’ve held for >15yrs, & 2024's been significantly less stressful! *Remediate* - adjusting to 100% WFH instead of 50/50 has been a bit strange – throwback to thesis writing! - but perfect for regenerating energy after a tough few years of work overload & increasingly bad sleep, diet, & (lack of) exercise to compensate. Research’s specifications haven’t minimised by any means, but optimising my input is significantly easier within better-suited systems. Being more virtual I align my scheduled meetings better, am more efficient, & have been able to contribute (whether large or small) to so many more ideas this year, helping trailblazers leverage their concepts into real-life change. I fall asleep much more satisfied with my days, wear “office” clothes that are much more me after some long overdue expert fashion advice, & have started running again which I love. My chocolate intake is still a work in progress, but admittedly I may not have been working too hard on that one! 😜 *Renew* - meeting so many more awesome people in the course of my consulting, from across the world, over multiple disciplines, & every “role” you can think of, has been integral to revitalising my sense of self in my “calling” & indeed in being proud to call myself a researcher. Health, of all fields, is largely driven by a need to make a difference, to leave the world a better place, as my old team & co-collaborators over many projects absolutely embodied. Researchers do so amidst often (unfortunately) adverse conditions including low funding, short contracts, & changing political goals, but should stand proud of what they accomplish on behalf of the broader community – local, national, & global too. Meeting, connecting with, & both initiating new collaborations & renewing old ones with others that feel the same way, has renewed my faith in this foundation. Though that does remind me I need to update my website with my current range of activities! With 2025 soon rolling around I am looking forward to more. To more innovation, to more impact, & to more “good apples” bearing the torch for the next generation of change. My pic, Grampians
Health Policy | Advocacy | Stakeholder Engagement | Partnership | Fundraising
1wThis made me feel so many feels A/Prof Erin Morton 🫶 But I love those 3 R’s, I’m going to do that myself this week 🧡