Events

This registration page is for online attendance only.

SOM Leadership Conference 2025 - Leading in challenging climates

SOM leadership event with the National Forum for Health & Wellbeing at Work

Thursday 9th October 9.30am-5.00pm, Online

An inclusive day for all disciplines offering inspiration to develop your leadership skills.

Current challenges are on many levels – margins are tight, AI is emerging, and geopolitical and social uncertainty is affecting business. What skill sets are needed for the future? What are the business cases we need? This day will pull the above themes through highlighting the need to work in a multidisciplinary way.

The agenda is as follows:

9.00-9.15am Registration/networking

9.15-9.20am Welcome - Dr Lanre Ogunyemi & Dr Vicky Mason

9.20-10.05am Leading in challenging climates and managing in a digital age

Armchair conversation with Professor Cary Cooper - Dr Richard Heron  

10.05-10.50am Learning from Neurodivergent Leaders

When so much advice for leaders is based around being authentic, coaching, listening, empathetic - a "servant leader" - where is self-care? Using the theoretical framework of Transactional Analysis, this talk will include how we free ourselves from leadership archetypes and focus on psychological safety in our teams. Professor Nancy Doyle with Q and A discussion[1]

11.50-11.10am Tea/coffee and networking break

11.10am-12.10pm Panel - My Leadership journey – what challenges did I overcome?

Dr Abeyna Jones, Chris Terry, Hilary Winch & Jo Vallom Smith

12.10pm-12.55pm Skills in influencing and managing people and Boards in difficult situations

Dr Richard Heron

12.55-1.55pm Lunch/networking with opportunity to “mine the leaders” with speakers available to meet on a 1:1 basis*

1.55-2.55pm Discover your leadership competencies 

Prof Jo Yarker & Nathan Palmer

Presenting the leadership competency framework with facilitated self / team discovery exercises to reflect about development needs/opportunities. What is your response to uncertainty, changing business contexts and the impact on the team’s needs?

2.55-3.40pm Leading in challenging environments- how does this feel personally? From threats do opportunities emerge?

Matt Day[2] NHS England, Director of clinical commissioning

3.40-3.55pm Tea/coffee and networking break

3.55-4.40pm People and teams – Professor Kevin Fenton

4.40pm Wrap up and close

Cost: £32 non-members; £25 SOM members (please log in before registering). Trainees in all fields (doctors and AHPs) can book at the discounted rate of £17 - contact Mimi.Eyeoyibo@som.org.uk for the discount code.

All nurses, doctors, AHPs and OH professionals, including trainees and students, are welcome.

This registration page is for online attendance only. The Zoom joining link will be emailed to you upon registration.

*Please note that 1:1 sessions are only available in-person

17 October 2025 Time 12:00–13:30 (UK time) / 20:00–21:30 (Japan time)

Webinar FREE FOR ALL

This webinar is run jointly by SOM and the Japanese Association of Occupational Health Law. It provides insights into the experience and regulation of presenteeism in the workplace in Japan and the UK and future policy options in this area.

Co-Chairs

•    Professor Neil Greenberg (President, Society of Occupational Medicine)
•    Professor Takenori Mishiba (Deputy Representative Director, Japan Association of Occupational Health Law)

Speakers

•    Professor Gail Kinman (Birkbeck, University of London)
•    Associate Professor Makoto Okawara (School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan)

Program Schedule

•    12:00–12:10 (UK) / 20:00–20:10 (JP): Opening remarks by the co-chairs
•    12:10–12:25 (UK) / 20:10–20:25 (JP): Presentation by Professor Gail Kinman
•    12:25–12:35 (UK) / 20:25–20:35 (JP): Q&A
•    12:35–12:50 (UK) / 20:35–20:50 (JP): Presentation by Dr. Makoto Okawara
•    12:50–13:00 (UK) / 20:50–21:00 (JP): Q&A
•    13:00–13:25 (UK) / 21:00–21:25 (JP): General discussion
•    13:25–13:30 (UK) / 21:25–21:30 (JP): Closing remarks by the co-chairs

FREE for ALL. Register for the event here. Part of the process involves scanning a QR code to register for the translation service.

FREE for ALL (please log in on the SOM website first). 

Webinar Summary - A New Era of Assessing Driver Health

1934     First licence for a lorry driver was issued;
1967     The Road Safety Act paved the way for lorry drivers testing and licensing;
1988     The Road Traffic Act developed this further with the concept of fitness to drive;
1990     The DVLA was formed;
2025    Why are we are still using the DVLA D4 form to assess medical fitness...?

The UK has changed a lot since the DVLA was formed: our population has gone from 57.25M to 69.55M, with obesity in adults doubling between 1990 and 2022. As the needs (and disease prevalence) of drivers has changed over the years so our approach to assessing driver physical and mental health, and thus safety, must also evolve while legislation catches up. 

Speaker Bio:
 
Dr. Grant Charlesworth-Jones, Chairman of the D4Group is uniquely qualified as both a GP and a Barrister, bringing a wealth of experience from the medical, legal, and occupational health fields. His diverse background inspired him to create D4Drivers, now the UK's largest provider of driver health assessments and D4Health, specialists in Occupational Health for the transport and logistics sector.
 
Driven by a passion for improving road safety, he also spearheaded the Driving Better Health charity, which has garnered widespread industry support. In collaboration with Loughborough University, the charity is leading groundbreaking research into how occupational driving impacts the health of professional drivers. Through these efforts, Dr. Charlesworth-Jones is dedicated to advocating for more proactive and regular driver health interventions, making a strong case for improved safety regulations on the road.
 

Chair: Lucy Smith, Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing, Mitie

FREE for ALL. You will then be sent the joining link.

Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) Standard Refresher Course

Monday 3rd November - A Virtual Event

Course tutor: Dr Roger Cooke, consultant in occupational medicine, and a leading expert in hand-arm vibration syndrome

Do you need to refresh your HAVS skills? Join The At Work Partnership virtually on Monday 3rd November to develop your skills and refresh your knowledge on managing HAVs cases with leading HAVS expert Dr Roger Cooke.

Who is the training designed for?

The day is designed for OH professionals who have attended the Faculty of Occupational Medicine approved two-day HAVS training course. In order to undertake statutory tier 3 or tier 4 HAVS assessments, all OH professionals need to have an OH qualification, so this is a prerequisite.

There are two levels of HAVS refresher course, a standard course and an advanced course. The standard course is tailored specifically for OH advisers and physicians who don’t regularly undertake HAVS surveillance and will provide an in-depth update on the requirements for health surveillance for a workforce exposed to hand-transmitted vibration, and in the diagnosis and management of an individual with HAVS.

Benefits of attending the HAVS refresher training

- Enhance your knowledge and skills

- Based on the outcome of health surveillance, it will enable you to:

   - Minimise risk of progression

   - Maximise chance of improvement

   - Reduce financial/legal implications

- Gain up-to-date and in-depth guidance on the following areas:

   - Understand the latest guidance and recent case law

   - HAVS surveillance

   - Diagnostic criteria

   - Case management

- Put theory into practice with real-life case studies

   - Submit your own examples of cases for discussion. Delegates who submit their own cases can gain tailored expert tailored feedback.

EARLY BIRD RATE OFFER: Book and pay before 19th September and save £50 + VAT

Click here for the full HAVS standard refresher course programme and to book online