Learning Hub
Sign up to our newsletter
8 October 2025
The year four MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) student at the GKT School of Medical Education, King’s College London, discusses his new board role with KHP Academic Surgery. He sets out his ambitions for the Grand Round series, and explains how working within King's Health Partners provides invaluable opportunities to make connections.
What is your role within King’s Health Partners (KHP)?
I am a student representative on the KHP Academic Surgery board. I’ll be working with student colleagues and the wider board to increase student engagement, and design new events that inspire medical students across years to pursue a career as surgeon-scientists.
Congratulations on your board role. What aspirations do you have for your time on the board?
KHP is a partnership between three premier NHS trusts – Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital, and South London and Maudsley – and world-leading university King’s College London. It has a network of experts that is difficult to find elsewhere. I hope to extend their expertise to students across the faculty of life sciences and medicine. This could be in the form of tailoring existing events such as the Grand Round towards a wider audience that includes medical students, as well as developing new initiatives focused on robotics, AI, and other cutting-edge innovations in surgery.
What inspired you to seek a career in surgery?
I’ve always liked activities that involve creating and working with my hands. Surgery is a precise field that employs dexterity and fine motor skill to solve a clear anatomical challenge. For a lot of surgery, you can provide patients with tangible relief and outcomes, which is very rewarding from a professional perspective. I’ve also had a range of experiences on placement in medical school, and I’m awed by surgeons’ technical expertise and positive impact on patients.
What are the benefits of studying within a partnership?
The biggest advantage of studying within a partnership like KHP is being at the centre of a one-stop shop for clinical exposure, research opportunities, and cutting-edge work. As a student, there is always a talk, ongoing project, or workshop that you will find of interest and can broaden your own knowledge base. It also provides invaluable opportunities to make connections and find mentors who take a genuine interest in your career and development.
What would be your top tips for anyone wanting a surgical career?
Try to experience as much surgery as you can - I find scrubbing into surgery the best way to learn anatomy and it allows you to start building basic surgical skill early. Talk to surgeons at all levels, from consultants to junior residents, since you’ll spend many years as a trainee and it is important to understand that lifestyle too. Finally, try to chip away at the portfolio bit-by-bit throughout medical school – maintain a logbook, ask for audits, research, and teaching opportunities.
Raghav completed a Master's in robotics engineering as his intercalated degree last year. He has an engineering role as a researcher in surgical robotics at the Department of Surgical & Interventional Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, King’s College London, where he designs endoscopic micro robots.
