Professor Michael Goldacre

Background

Educated Bec School, London; Magdalen College, Oxford; University College Medical School, London. At Magdalen, as well as studying medicine, I played rugby for the College 1st XV and cricket for the 1st XI. After qualifying in medicine, and working in several hospital posts, I undertook an MSc in social medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and started a career in public health. As an Oxford academic, I was a clinical lecturer in social and community medicine, reader in public health, and then a professor of public health in the university Department of Public Health. Like most UK clinical academics, I had joint appointments with the NHS, and was an NHS Consultant in Public Health. I became a Fellow of Magdalen in 1985; was Tutor for Graduates, 1993-95; Dean of Degrees, 1993-2011.
In the Oxford medical school, I taught public health, epidemiology and health services management to clinical medical students throughout my career. For several years, I organised and taught on a Health and Disease module for the FHS Human Sciences. I taught, and supervised, students on the University’s MSc in Global Health; and I supervised doctoral students. I work currently as an emeritus professor in the Big Data Institute, Nuffield Department of Population Health. I have published over 400 research papers, listed in PubMed at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=goldacre+m One broad area of my research has been the use of anonymised electronic hospital records in epidemiological and health services studies. I directed the Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology which built and researched ‘Big Data’ hospital databases covering records from the 1960s to the present.

Selected recent publications:

• Congenital viral infections in England over five decades. Kadambari S, Pollard AJ, Goldacre MJ, Goldacre R. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020;20:220-229. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(19)30416-5.
• Determinants of the decline in mortality from acute stroke in England: linked national database study of 795,869 adults. Seminog OO, Scarborough P, Wright FL, Rayner M, Goldacre MJ. BMJ 2019;365:l1778. doi: 10.1136/bmj.l1778.
• Hospitalisation for children with rickets in England: a historical perspective. Goldacre M, Hall N, Yeates DG. Lancet 2014;383:597-8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60211-7.
• Paediatric bipolar disorder: international comparisons of hospital discharge rates 2000-2010. Clacey J, Goldacre M, James A. BJPsych Open, 2015; 1:166-171. doi: 10.1192/bjpo.bp.115.001933.
• Avoidable mortality in people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in England. Hoang U, Goldacre MJ, Stewart R. Acta Psychiatr Scand, 2013;127:195-201. doi: 10.1111/acps.12045.
• Trends in hospital admission rates for anorexia nervosa in Oxford (1968-2011) and England (1990-2011). Holland J, Hall N, Yeates DG, Goldacre M. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2016;109:59-66. doi: 10.1177/0141076815617651.
• Mortality following hospital discharge with a diagnosis of eating disorder: national record linkage study, England, 2001-2009. Hoang U, Goldacre M, James A. Int J Eat Disord, 2014 Jul;47(5):507-15. doi: 10.1002/eat.22249
• Coexistence of eating disorders and autoimmune diseases: record linkage cohort study.
  Wotton CJ, James A, Goldacre MJ. Int J Eat Disord, 2016 Jul;49(7):663-72. doi: 10.1002/eat.22544.
• Associations between specific autoimmune diseases and subsequent dementia: retrospective record-linkage cohort study, UK. Wotton CJ, Goldacre MJ. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2017;71:576-583. doi: 10.1136/jech-2016-207809.
• Association between cholecystectomy and intestinal cancer: a national record linkage study.
  Goldacre MJ, Wotton CJ, Abisgold J, Yeates DG, Collins J. Annals of Surgery, 2012; 256:1068-72. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182759efb.
• Multiple sclerosis after infectious mononucleosis: record linkage study. Goldacre MJ, Wotton CJ, Seagroatt V, Yeates D. J Epidemiol Community Health, 2004;58:1032-5. doi: 10.1136/jech.2003.018366.
• Maternal and perinatal characteristics of infants who, later in life, developed multiple sclerosis: Record-linkage study. Goldacre A, Pakpoor J, Goldacre M. Mult Scler Relat Disord, 2017;13:98-102. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2017.02.004.
• Perinatal and early life risk factors for inflammatory bowel disease. Roberts SE, Wotton CJ, Williams JG, Griffith M, Goldacre MJ. World J Gastroenterol, 2011;17:743-9. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i6.743.

Another main area of work has been the study of doctors’ careers. The rationale for this is that, in any health system, the most important asset is its skilled workforce, and workforce planning is fundamental to health-care planning. At best, this needs to be guided by knowledge about doctors’ career intentions, career trajectories, and their views about working in medicine. I directed the UK Medical Careers Research Group, a UK-wide series of cohort studies that has tracked the careers of about 80,000 doctors in qualification years ranging from 1974-2015. The studies of careers, though specifically about doctors, also provide insights into work-related aspects of modern professional life more generally.

Selected publications:

• Career specialty choices of UK medical graduates of 2015 compared with earlier cohorts: questionnaire surveys. Lambert TW, Smith F, Goldacre MJ. Postgrad Med J. 2018:191-197. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2017-135309.
• Trends in attractiveness of general practice as a career: surveys of views of UK-trained doctors. Lambert TW, Smith F, Goldacre MJ. Br J General Practice. 2017;67:e238-e247. doi: 10.3399/bjgp17X689893.
• UK-trained junior doctors’ intentions to work in UK medicine: questionnaire surveys, three years after graduation. Surman G, Goldacre MJ, Lambert TW. J R Soc Med. 2017;110:493-500. doi: 10.1177/0141076817738500.
• Why UK-trained doctors leave the UK: cross-sectional survey of doctors in New Zealand.
  Sharma A, Lambert TW, Goldacre MJ. J R Soc Med. 2012;105:25-34. doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2011.110146.
• Participation in medicine by graduates of medical schools in the United Kingdom up to 25 years post graduation: national cohort surveys. Goldacre MJ, Lambert TW. Acad Med. 2013 May;88(5):699-709. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31828b364f.
• Factors influencing the decisions of senior UK doctors to retire or remain in medicine. Smith F, Lachish S, Goldacre MJ, Lambert TW. BMJ Open. 2017 Oct 31;7(9):e017650. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017650.
• The characteristics and views of early retirees compared with doctors still in work, Lambert TW, Goldacre MJ. Future Healthcare Journal, 2018:192-197. doi: 10.7861/futurehosp.5-3-192.
• Career progression and destinations, comparing men and women in the NHS. Taylor KS, Lambert TW, Goldacre MJ. BMJ. 2009;338:b1735. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b1735.
• Combining parenthood with a medical career. Lambert TW, Smith F, Goldacre MJ. BMJ Open. 2017;7(8):e016822. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016822.
• Doctors’ enjoyment of their work and satisfaction with time available for leisure: UK time trend questionnaire-based study. Surman G, Lambert TW, Goldacre M. Postgrad Med J. 2016; 92:194-200. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2015-133743.
• Working as a doctor when chronically ill or disabled: comments made by doctors responding to UK surveys. Smith F, Goldacre MJ, Lambert TW. JRSM Open. 2016;7:2054270416649282. doi: 10.1177/2054270416649282.
• Self-reported preparedness for clinical work has increased among recent cohorts of UK-trained first-year doctors. Lachish S, Goldacre MJ, Lambert T. Postgrad Med J, 2016; 92:460-5. doi: 10.1136/postgradmedj-2015-133858.
• Preregistration house officers’ views on whether their experience at medical school prepared them well for their jobs: national questionnaire surveys. Goldacre MJ, Lambert T, Evans J, Turner G. BMJ. 2003;326:1011-2. doi: 10.1136/bmj.326.7397.1011.