The path for clinicians in management is not a paved road, opposite to other common paths of training and practice. At an early stage as a medicine student, I had many internal conflicts with my formation, I was inquisitive, critical, and unruly towards practices. Early on I noticed this was not as usual as expected amongst my peers. This constant curiosity and disruptive thinking differentiated me and made me choose an unusual path quite early: I wanted to be a part of the big decisions in healthcare. I was not as comfortable as most of my colleagues were with the idea of spending the majority of my time treating patients: I wanted to improve healthcare in a larger scale. This led me get involved in two key areas at early stages: biomedical research and healthcare management.
I have always been drawn to technology, ever since I was very little – videogames, hardware, software, etc. and I never really stopped being a tech enthusiast. As I progressed as a student I grew more interested in the technological aspects of surgical robots than in operating them, and when I started to work in private practice I was usually more interested in the attitudes and reactions of staff members to the introduction of new technologies and policies, rather than the outcomes or the policies themselves. I was not fulfilled by just practicing, I wanted to lead and generate change.
I started the search for a post-graduate programme that would provide me for the tools I needed to be fully confident to lead health organizations with excellence. I was thrilled when I was accepted to study an MSc in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care in the University and I enjoyed every minute of every lecture, the studying materials, the atmosphere, and activities. And why would I not: I was at last where I wanted, after all those years of clinical training.
While still coursing my MSc, I was eager to create value, to go do, so I decided to start my own technology company. I founded Metix Ltd in my dorm along with other students and friends from ECS and Management School in the University. In this small start-up I applied all my new skills by structuring, leading and managing the projects and objectives of our small company. Today after only months of existence Metix Ltd has been endorsed by many, including a sponsorship from the UK Government through UKTI, this with the aim of helping us secure investment to build and export our innovative medical devices. Metix was chosen from amongst hundreds of companies from all over the world for these prizes because of its early adoption of robust management structure, promising team, organized processes, intellectual property and clear strategy.
The accomplishments and the actions I have performed to grow my business are a just the result of me applying the skills I have acquired over this journey. I wake up to work every morning fulfilled, knowing that all the knowledge I gained is at last being used in a holistic way to achieve a non-theoretical goal, and that I am actually creating that change I always wanted in the world.
Julio E. Guerrero Ontiveros | MBBS, soon to be awarded MSc. |
E-mail: contact@metixmedical.co.uk
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