December 2024
The Revd Dr Simon Atkins as a Sarum student.
On the face of it, being a doctor and being a minister are two very different occupations. Now that he spends half his working week as a doctor and the other half as curate, The Revd Dr Simon Atkins sees quite a few similarities. Both are public service roles that require empathy and highly developed listening skills — and both require a “expect the unexpected” default approach to each day.
A lifelong Christian and a GP partner in Bristol, Simon was prompted by the recommendation of his local vicar to consider being a priest. He applied and was accepted to Sarum’s two-year master’s in theology in 2019.
Of his training at Sarum, Simon says:
“I think one thing that stands out is what we learned when we studied theological anthropology, which while it has a number of overlapping concepts with medical anthropology, specifically emphasises that every person we meet and serve in ministry is made in the image of God. So, likewise, all patients I see in surgery are made in the image of God too.
“This important reminder has really helped me in the way I approach consultations, especially those I know will be challenging because of either the personalities of those I am seeing, or because of the issues to be discussed and frequently because of both.”
Simon was ordained in the Church of England in 2023 and now works part time as a curate in Easton, Bristol.
Simon was featured in the 2 December 2024 issue of the British Medical Journal:
Leave a Reply