Citation for the BAOMS Surgery Prize 2006 Nicholas J Baker

Article Outline

 

Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Nick Baker was born and brought up in the Black Country where his father, a draughtsman and managing director of a large steel company, instilled in him his love of football, and a certain club, Wolverhampton, whose activities are still keenly supported.

Following his dental studies in Sheffield where he graduated with honours, he worked with Peter McAndrew in Rotherham and Steve Davies in Chesterfield where he developed a keen interest in his future chosen specialty. After a Registrar post in Salisbury and Southampton, Nick studied medicine at Charing Cross and Westminster Hospitals, winning six academic prizes during his time there. He subsequently obtained a Registrar post back in the Midlands where he met his future wife, Nicola and thereafter a Senior Registrar post on the South Coast, joining our community in 1994. Having passed his final fellowship exam, collecting the intercollegiate gold medal on the way, he was appointed Consultant in Southampton in 1997. Nick rapidly established himself there, though, by his own admission, his senior and now eminent colleague continued to introduce him to colleagues as his new workmate for some years.

Nick's modesty and quiet intellectuality rapidly established his reputation amongst his colleagues both at Southampton and other nearby centres on the South Coast. Initially, with an enormous workload, and only two consultants, he played an important role in the development of the head and neck oncology service rapidly establishing a free tissue service for Maxillofacial surgery as well as ENT and orthopaedics and supporting the burgeoning craniofacial and skull base surgery service that had been initiated by Barrie Evans. Indeed, when he eventually withdrew from the craniofacial service as the pressure of work built up elsewhere, I am reliably informed that the Neurosurgeons, by whom he was highly regarded, were devastated. However, Nick's quiet determination to move on, regardless of potential difficulties, was ever present and being a superb team player he continued to work together to develop the service, which included the appointment of a third Consultant.

In 2003, Nick took over the post of Programme Director for the South Coast Higher Surgical Training Programme. With the advent of significant changes in medical education, it was never going to be easy but coupled with his more recent appointment to the Specialty Advisory Committee, he has taken us all, Consultant colleagues and Specialist Registrars alike, smoothly and painlessly forward, ploughing a difficult furrow seemingly effortlessly. In this and in his daily work he has always maintained an even temperament in often difficult situations diffusing potential problems with ease whilst at the same time exerting a benign control, in much the same way as would the head of a monastic community—calm, collected but without doubt in charge.

On the wider stage, Nick has been an examiner for the FRCS Intercollegiate examination since 2004, a member of Council of our Association since 2006 and a member of the Paediatric Forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England also since last year, maintaining the long tradition of service to the Association by many of us on the South Coast. He has now taken over as Chairman of the Education Sub Committee, tasked to develop an active CPD programme for the Association and guide us through the process of recertification. In addition, he continues to actively publish and present his work with a total of four book chapters to date and publications in all aspects of the specialty.

However, this man is not one-sided. He has many other and diverse interests. Of course, his propensity for the golf course and a rather good handicap is well known and combined with his love of Devon where he, Nicola and their children spend much time, he can indulge in the pleasures of family life. However, perhaps the most exciting and certainly unusual aspect of Nick is his literary bent. We have in our midst a budding great author of the 21st century, for he is making headway with his first novel and, depending on whether the novel turns out to be a thriller or fantasy, perhaps a latter day Fleming or Tolkein.

In his first 10 years, Nick has made an outstanding contribution to the development of the maxillofacial service in Southampton and to the training of all our aspiring Maxillofacial Surgeons within our training programme, delighting in their continued successes. He has steered a steady path in the face of the continuing changes and reorganisations in medicine and healthcare and the challenges arising therein. We are fortunate to have such a colleague. We look forward to continuing contributions.

Finally, behind every successful man is a devoted wife, and this has never been truer than here. I am sure that Nick would wish me to mention Nicola's contribution to his success, as we all do.

It is my great pleasure and privilege to present to you Nick Baker as a most worthy recipient of the BAOMS Prize for 2006.

Anthony F Marcus

June 2007