Consultant in Emergency Medicine
BSc (Hons), LLB (Hons), MBChB, MSc, MA (Oxon), PhD, DCH, DIMC, MRCP, MRCS, FRCEM, FEBEM
Overview
Areas of expertise
Medico-Legal experience
Professor Metcalfe holds a first-class honours degree in law and previously taught medical ethics and law at University College London. He was a member of the Clinical Advisory Group that informed recent NHS Resolution reports on “High value and fatality related claims” and “Missed fractures”. His work on the legal status of clinical guidelines was awarded the British Orthopaedic Association Robert Jones Medal and Association Prize.
Clinical Practice & Experience
Professor Metcalfe is the inaugural Kadoorie Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Oxford and a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the John Radcliffe Hospital. He was formerly a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Medical School, Clinical Lecturer in Emergency Medicine at Oxford, and was elected Hunterian Professor of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2020. His clinical practice spans the full spectrum of emergency medicine (adults and children) and urgent care.
Clinical Interests
Professor Metcalfe’s particular clinical interests are around musculoskeletal injury (e.g. fractures), cardiac arrest, and the diagnosis of high-consequence emergency conditions (e.g. aortic dissection, pulmonary embolus, cauda equina syndrome).
Research Interests
Professor Metcalfe’s research aims to improve the early diagnosis of time-critical conditions, optimise clinical pathways, and evaluate interventions used in emergency care. His current studies are around fracture detection on x-ray, treatment of wrist and hip fractures, and diagnosis of cauda equina syndrome.
Management Experience
Professor Metcalfe leads a growing research group in emergency care at Oxford. When acting as the emergency physician in charge, he oversees the clinical work of a team of resident doctors (Senior House Officers and Registrars), Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs), and Emergency Nurse Practitioners (ENPs).
Summary of Publications
Professor Metcalfe has over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, including the BMJ and JAMA. He has also contributed to guidelines published by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and NHS England. He wrote the undergraduate textbook ‘Adult Emergency Medicine at a Glance’ (Wiley Blackwell) with Dr Tom Hughes.
Teaching & Training
Professor Metcalfe has taught medical students at Magdalen College in Oxford since 2016 and has previously taught at Warwick, Edinburgh, The Open University, St George’s University of London, and University College London. He has instructed on nationally accredited courses such as Advanced Life Support (ALS), Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS), and the European Trauma Course (ETC). He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Prizes and Awards
Royal College of Surgeons of England Hunterian Professorship
British Orthopaedic Association Robert Jones Gold Medal
Syme Medal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
AOUK Trauma Research Prize
Orthopaedic Trauma Society Prize
Oxford-UCB Prize Fellowship
Royal Society of Medicine Emergency Medicine Prize
British Journal of Surgery Prize
Royal College of Surgeons of England Fulbright Scholarship
Memberships of Professional Bodies & Learned Societies
Royal College of Emergency Medicine (Fellow)
European Board of Emergency Medicine (Fellow)
Faculty of Immediate Medical Care (Advanced Practitioner Member)
Royal College of Surgeons of England (Member)
Contact David
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