Katharine Knight

Elected for a first term in May 2022.

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Why did you want to become a governor?

As a trainee psychotherapist and student rep, I have enjoyed representing my peers on the D58 course and felt I could bring my experience of advocating for my student colleagues to a wider level on the Board of Governors of the Tavistock. The Tavistock is a remarkable and historic institution but there is always room for improvement, innovation and greater responsiveness to the demand for change, alongside the upholding of the highest standards in the delivery of healthcare and education of healthcare professionals. The student body is key to developing and promoting what the Tavistock does best: learning new ways of doing things, implementing them, and striving for excellence, always with an eye to the future of mental health care and how this can better serve patients, staff, learners and educators, and the local community. I am motivated to seek out opportunities for quality improvement, and I aim to be a voice for the vibrant student community and contribute to best practice at the Tavistock.

What skills and experience do you feel you can bring to the role?

Alongside being a current student, I am also a junior doctor working within the NHS in acute services. I have had experience of working as a junior doctor rep (for less-than-full-time trainees) and have run diversity training courses for medical students and health professionals. I am committed to the highest ethical standards, the importance of diversity, and the values of the NHS in all the work that I do, and I will carry this over to my work on the Board of Governors.

I have had previous experience working for national charities in women’s health and with the Royal Colleges as a medical student ‘ambassador’; I am therefore well-equipped to speak up for the student community at the Tavistock and will draw on my skills in liaising and advocacy to do so energetically and effectively.

I would like to see the Tavistock and Portman Foundation Trust flourish in its second century, maintaining and extending its reputation for innovation, compassionate care, and as a centre of excellence for psychoanalytic ideas within the NHS. I believe the Tavistock’s greatest asset is its staff and students, in particular their open-minded curiosity about people’s emotional life, and I would like to contribute to our institution’s sound governance and to the championing of integrity, ethical practice, and openness to engagement from all stakeholders within the Trust’s remit.

Do you have any relevant interests (financial, political, or other) to declare?

None to declare.