Ben Bullen

Ben Bullen: Head of Education and Professional Development, Royal College of Podiatry

Ben is an internationally-qualifed podiatrist from Australia who has develped his clinical, education, leadership and research portfolio at a national level during his time in the UK.

Motivation to move to the UK

I moved to Cambridge in 2007 with my ex-wife who had secured a post-doctoral position there. I was working in a diabetes specialist capacity at this time, contributing to amputee rehabilitation, chronic wound, diabetes foot and falls and balance multidisciplinary services. It was a most enjoyable role and lifestyle but the draw of living in the UK was also strong. While you may think Australians find the UK cold, proximity to Europe and our national wanderlust mean that warmer climes are not difficult to access.

Finding work in the UK

Podiatrists were and are in hot demand in Australia, but I hadn't truly appreciated the impact that the financial crisis and the beginning of the 'decade of austerity' were having on NHS services at the time I arrived. Finding a job was not difficult but I did have to travel from Cambridge to Norwich each day, quite different from the short tram ride I had become accustomed to. Even seasonal train tickets were extortionate by Australian or, indeed, European standards. While my fixed-term, full-time, AfC Band 7 role subsequently became permanent, post-doc biomedical scientist positions are notoriously short-term, and so I moved again, this time to Edinburgh.

I wonder if external factors, like in my example, may play a role in the recruitment and retention of international recruits. It may not be the job or the location for the podiatrist but possibly their partner. There are far more options for both parties in London, of course, but I can see this being an issue in more rural areas. In terms of acclimatising to the culture in the UK and the National Health Service, I took a financial hit, but my work continued to be interesting and rewarding in other ways. While I'm not one for 'ex-pat' events, I have made great friends and worked with fabulous colleagues over the years. I've taken up opportunities to study, research, teach and lead on areas I am passionate about and am proud to now be the Head of Education and Professional Development for The Royal College of Podiatry.

Research in the UK

During my time in the UK, I was also able to pursue a research career. I held a formal Advanced Practitioner (Clinical Research) role at the New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, where I contributed to several diabetes foot research projects, including multi-centre, randomised controlled trials. I was also able to complete a Professional Doctorate in Person-centred Practice at Queen Margaret University, focussing on Charcot Foot Health Literacy. Such opportunities for research are another strong draw to the UK for internationally trained podiatrists, such as myself.