Ben Amies

I work as Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice at the University of Manchester. I share my time equally between a practice in South Manchester and undertaking research at the University, which is based at the Centre for Primary Care and the Centre for Health Economics. 

I completed my undergraduate Medical Degree at The University of Manchester. As an undergraduate, I also completed a Master’s by Research in Medical Sciences, focussing on qualitative Medical Education Research. This developed a broad range of research skills and methodological understanding. My research explored how medical undergraduates' understanding of the pedagogies used impacted their experience of the course. This contributed to the contemporaneous medical curriculum review, helping to reshape teaching and learning at Manchester Medical School. 

I chose to complete my Foundation Training at University Hospital of South Manchester, a large academic clinical centre. During my Foundation Training I became involved in committees at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, giving me my first experiences working in national health policy. These inspiring experiences led me to complete a further Master’s Degree alongside my clinical commitments, this time in Health Policy at Imperial College London.

After initially undertaking qualitative research in Medical Education, I have now turned to using quantitative methods. My recent research involved collaborating with colleagues at the Centre for Health Economics. This focussed on the trends in mental health that took place during the recent financial crisis and following dramatic social changes. This was my first introduction to econometric methods and advanced statistical software. 

My broad research interests are in using traditional Public Health perspectives such as preventative care and lifecourse approaches for measuring how well markets support and deliver health and wellbeing. I think there are huge undeveloped opportunities in deriving wellbeing through evidence-based economic and social policy. For me the biggest of these lie in the labour market and food chain. For example - is there more wellbeing delivered or removed through the sugar industry, in what forms, and for whom? Does labour market deregulation improve or damage health, and for whom? 

My academic inspirations follow on from thought leaders such as David Stuckler, Joseph Stiglitz and Anthony Atkinson. 

My resident practice is in Wythenshawe, a traditionally deprived area undergoing rapid social change. It is in my patients that I get most of my research ideas. Built as an estate to rehouse those displaced by postwar slum-clearance in central Manchester, the population was traditionally white working class and has been troubled by problems such as poor access to employment and education. More recently infrastructure investment has greatly improved access to the city centre and nearby airport. In combination with the housing crisis, this has led to many more immigrants (of both internal and external migration) moving to the area. Wythenshawe for me represents the challenges and opportunities in delivering population-wide improvements in health and wellbeing. 

Publications – conferences

• Capps J, Amies B, Duck A et al; Quality of life and adverse effects in patients taking pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting; 5-7 Dec 2013; London, UK
• R Frank, B Amies, J Capps et al; Factors influencing mortality in IPF patients treated with pirfenidone British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting; 5-7 Dec 2013; London, UK
• Amies B; What do students want from GP placements? Plenary; North-West GP Tutor Conference; 4 Nov 2010; Manchester, UK
• Lindley R, Amies B, Ream J, et al; Getting feedback about community placements in undergraduate medical education: Do we all hear the same thing? Short Communication; ASME Annual Scientific Meeting; July 2010, Cambridge, UK
• Amies B, Lindley R, Ream J et al; Successful community placements in undergraduate medicine; Short Communication; AMEE International Conference; 4-8 Sept 2010; Glasgow, UK
• Amies B, Byrne G; Student conceptions of teaching and learning on a PBL course; Poster; Proceedings of the 14^th Ottawa Conference on the Assessment of Competence in Medicine and the Healthcare Professions; 15-20 May 2010; Miami, USA
• Amies B, Byrne G; Student understanding of PBL theory is key to success; Postgrad Research in Science-Medicine, Northwest; 30 Oct 2009; Manchester, UK