2022 also saw us refine the free resources that we provide to our clients and followers. Sharing current, up to date information is something that we feel very strongly about here at Red Square Medical. With Dr. Google out there set to diagnose death at every step and the plethora of information that can be found just by dong a quick search online, we know that it can be hard to sort out whats real and whats not.
I have personally enjoyed this journey of refining our free resources and Rachel has really driven the way with regards to content production. I have definitely been learning from her blogs and encourage you to tune in every Wednesday for the latest edition.
If you are interested in accessing any of our free resources then just click on the images below to find out more!
It was great to be invited to talk about medical care at sea, and be interviewed for readers preparing for long passages at sea, though I guess I’m still a little surprised that people want to hear me talk about it!
Being naturally self-critical, as I guess most business owners are, I’m aware of mistakes made over the course of the year. Luckily nothing major! I remember when I was in the Royal Navy and made a massive financial mistake with some medical supplies I ‘fessed up to the big boss who said thank goodness I was honest, otherwise he would have had to discipline me. As it was, he just debriefed me and sent me on my way. Honesty is always the best policy, so the mistakes I’ve made this year I have owned and rectified to the best of my ability. Of course this also provides a great opportunity to reflect on how it happened in the first place, so I can learn and the business can move forward. I’m also a massive fan of auditing, both internal and external; it’s such a great way to get an objective view on your processes and performance.
On the positive side, we’re fortunate enough to work with luxury Expedition vessels and being part of the team that supports them has been a real highlight for Red Square Medical as a business. The shipping company has placed their trust in a relatively small business with less resources, and we love working with them. Another positive for me is that I have always loved delivering the 3-day STCW Medical Care refresher course and have met some fabulous seafarers. I always learn loads from them when delivering the courses too.
On a personal note, I hit 1,000 days of running every day back in September and on 1 January 2023 will be entering my 4th year of running daily.
So what will the New Year bring? Our client base is really quite diverse and we want to really niche our service offerings, so we plan to do some in depth, sector specific research, to see where we can support our existing clients with enhanced services and maybe even take on new clients. With some semblance of normality returning to the world of shipping, we will be aiming to get out to visit our clients more often without the travel restrictions that have made life a bit harder. We are also looking forward to attending some industry events and networking with our fab maritime colleagues again.
Rachel’s induction will be in January, but as we have already been working together for a couple of years in a part time capacity, once we have handed over the areas of the business that will come under her remit, perhaps I will be able to partake in a couple of rum cocktails!
Seriously though, with Rachel joining the team, we are aiming to develop our free resources and design an app for seafarers to assist with medical care onboard, finding ways to add value to our current partnerships and forge some new ones… exciting times!
The people we get to work with and the potential we have feels endless. It’s not very specific I know, but we are so careful about who we choose to work with. The instructors and consultants we engage with make me feel that we have a wonderful network of talent with some seriously great individuals in maritime, medicine, remote care, telemedicine, public health, global supply chains and more. I just love pulling a project together and bringing in the absolutely right people for each job.
Looking forward, here’s a few things I try to live by and express through Red Square Medical… be curious, lose the ego (it really doesn't help at all!), keep learning, challenge yourself and those around you, seek out opinions that don’t match yours and try to understand them. And finally, run every day!
Happy New Year and all the best for 2023!