Creativity and clinical practice
In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air, past president of the RCoA Dr Fiona Donald talks to Dr James Nickells about his career in anaesthesia and critical care, and his rich hinterland in medical illustration, portrait art, and more, and how James has combined his clinical and outside interests over his career.
Related information:
Example Global Portrait Project portraits
Dr Kristal Ambrose - The Bahamas
Maida Balal - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Harry Chan Tin-Ming - China
Fiona Donald is a retired consultant anaesthetist who worked at Southmead Hospital, North Bristol NHS Trust, from 1997 to 2024. Fiona is also the immediate past President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (2021-24) having been elected to Council of the College in 2016. She was Vice President from September 2019 to September 2021.
When she was working, Fiona’s main areas of clinical and research interest were obstetric anaesthesia and perioperative care and she was anaesthetic lead for the maternity unit in Southmead Hospital from 1999 to 2009. She was also College Tutor, Chair of the Bristol School of Anaesthesia, an FRCA examiner and chair of the Final FRCA. She was chair of the North Bristol NHS Trust Consultants’ Committee from 2013-2016.
Now that she is retired Fiona has more time to devote to her other interests including music, painting, gardening and getting out into the countryside.
James Nickells is a consultant anaesthetist at North Bristol NHS Trust where he mainly works in trauma theatres. James is a published medical illustrator and since 2005 has followed a parallel career path as a fine artist, painting wildlife
Following the first wave of covid in 2020, he pivoted to human portraiture in ink on paper and in April 2021 he started The Global Portrait Project. In this ambitious, not-for-profit project he is painting portraits of 193 subjects each from a different country with each subject involved in their country in positive environmental action. He is working alphabetically through the United Nations Sovereign States list and is currently on Country 54, El Salvador.
The first 50 portraits (Afghanistan to Dominica) were recently exhibited and received a number of positive reviews including on the BBC news website
James blogs about the project on Instagram @globalportraitproject
…and when each country is finished he uploads a video with the timelapse of the painting process and the persons story narrated as the soundtrack on The Global Portrait Project channel on YouTube.