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North Middlesex University Hospital Trust is thrilled to announce that Miss Jean McDonald has won Clinical Leader of Year at the  2024 HSJ Awards  – the annual initiative which shares success stories across the health and social care sector, creating a collaborative platform to help inspire and shape the future of the NHS.

Miss McDonald is one of our consultant urological surgeons, though her healthcare journey started in the Bahamas, before she came to London in 1982 and undertook further training  gaining her diploma in urology at the Institute of Urology (UCL London) in 1990.

Her interest in urology developed while working in Newmarket in East Anglia, but in the 1980s, at a crucial period in her career, there was no specific training programme in urology. While a less tenacious clinician might have been discouraged or struggled to progress in their chosen field, Miss McDonald turned the situation into a driving factor that inspired her to forge a self-determined career that not only expanded the frontiers of representation in urological surgery, but also opened up paths for those following.

In January 1995 Miss Jean was the first Black woman to be appointed a consultant urological surgeon in the NHS, and has 29 years of service at North Mid, which serves a community disproportionately impacted by health inequity. Miss McDonald has set a high bar for clinical practice and leadership, while simultaneously exemplifying a commitment to improving training opportunities and standards across the multi-disciplinary team. She champions and supports aspiring urological surgeons, as well as training nurses into specialist roles for specific conditions. She consistently demonstrates and teaches openness, trialling new techniques and technology, while also opening doors to new experiences for her trainees across professional roles.

As a clinical leader at North Mid, Miss McDonald has served as clinical lead, deputy chair of the medicines management committee, surgical tutor, and educational and clinical supervisor. She has also established a number of innovative programmes including nurse-led urodynamics, prostate clinic, and nurse-led cystoscopy unit, empowering members of the multidisciplinary team to grow and learn.

In addition to her teaching and professional educational activities, Miss McDonald champions learning and upskilling in ways many don’t think of. For more than a decade, she has led pro-bono ventures to sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean to run workshops and share her urological expertise and be involved in the training of the young urologists in these regions.

The HSJ Awards took place on November 21at Evolution London, supported once again by headline partner, Vodafone Business, and hosted by one of the UK’s favourite comedians, Dara O’Briain. The charity partner for the 2024 HSJ Awards was NHS Charities Together.

For over 44 years, the HSJ Awards has shone a light on the outstanding efforts and achievements of healthcare workers across the entire sector - driving quality improvements, despite some of the current, challenging   circumstances faced by many.

This year, an impressive 1351 entries were received across 26 categories, with 235 organisations, projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist, following two rounds of rigorous judging.

The judging panel  was made up of a diverse range of more than 200 influential and respected figures within the healthcare community. All finalists and winners were judged set against 5 clear criteria; ambition; outcome; spread; value and involvement (including how well stakeholders buy-in and contribute towards the project initiatives and outcomes).

Miss Jean McDonald

"It is such an honour to be recognised for the work that I love and enjoy doing.

When I started off on this journey almost 30 years ago, I had no idea that my career would turn out the way that it has. At the start of my career, in particular Urology, which is male dominated,  it was a challenge to progress as Black woman. So as the first Black female to be appointed as a Consultant Urologist and still have very few, makes me want to do more to role model and open doors for the younger doctors. That is why I teach and mentor many medical students and trainees at different levels.

I am grateful that my efforts were recently recognised as the Clinical Leader of the Year at the HSJ awards.

Another first was when I was the first female awarded the Gold medal by the British Association of Urological Surgeons earlier this year.

I want to acknowledge and thank North Mid for supporting me in my career and allowing me to continue providing care to patients”

Dr Nnenna Osuji, Chief Executive

"Back in June when Jean became the first woman to win the BAUS Gold Medal in acknowledgement of her amazing and groundbreaking career, I acknowledged how lucky we were to have such an inspirational gem working at North Mid.

“Now, with the HSJ award, her incredible work as a clinical leader and international educator is earning wider recognition. During her career, she has forged her own path, breaking down barriers and leading by example, setting the highest possible bar for clinical practice and leadership, while simultaneously exemplifying a commitment to improving training opportunities and standards. The voices of those who have been trained by Jean bear testimony to her legacy.

“I am sure everyone at North Mid will join me in warmly congratulating Jean for her incredible win."

Editor of the Health Service Journal, Alastair McLellan

“Year on year, I’m always so impressed by the innovation, dedication and integrity of all those who take the time to submit an entry to the HSJ Awards – and this year has been no exception, with an outstanding calibre of applicants, presenting some tough decisions and much deliberation for her our judging panel!

“I’d therefore like to extend my personal congratulations to Miss Jean McDonald who was named as the very worthy winner in the category of Clinical Leader of the Year. Welcome to our growing family of HSJ Awards success stories!”.