MD MA MRCGP FRCGP FRACPE
Professor Abdol Tavabie led the team who developed the proposal for Kent and Medway Medical School.
Abdol was born and brought up in Iran, where he went to the Jondishahpour University to study medicine. On completing medical school in 1974, Abdol intended to undertake further training in the USA but on a visit to England, he was impressed with the British NHS and decided to pursue his postgraduate education in the UK. He met his wife, Dr. Jackie Tavabie and they decided to enter general practice together.
His vision for the future of general practice was to strive towards a continuously improving health care service. He believed in teamwork and collaboration with everyone involved in providing care to empower patients to look after themselves and be equal partners in clinical decision making.
His practice, in Orpington achieved beacon status for quality assurance with BS5750 accreditation, and was widely known for its excellence in training of all healthcare professionals, including medical students and GP trainees.
Abdol engaged with regional and national postgraduate training of doctors in various roles including Postgraduate Dean for General Practice Education. His last role was Interim Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education Dean. He retired in 2016 with nationally recognized success in multi-professional education, and clinical leadership positions in strategy development both in the NHS primary and secondary care settings. He has published numerous academic papers and three books.
Abdol continued his interest in education into retirement, being one of the pivotal figures in developing the Kent and Medway Medical School. He leaves a legacy of inspirational leadership and enthusiasm, which he has also passed on to his three children who are now all qualified doctors in the UK.