10 August 2020
Scott Reid has been a volunteer Chair of the Health & Care Research Sub-Committee for the last 2 years and is a Fellow of the IFoA. Scott lives in London and works for Zurich Insurance Company Limited for a global team based in Zurich, Switzerland.
In this blog, Scott reflects on his own experiences of volunteering and encourages others to get involved too.
Committee Chair and member is a great way to contribute
Health and Care is an exciting area for actuaries to be involved in and to be Chair of the Health and Care Research Sub-Committee over the last couple of years has been a great privilege. The committee’s role is to: investigate appetite for new research topics; to set up new working parties in these areas; and to support the working parties in producing relevant material for actuaries and the wider industry. Working with a great team of volunteers on the committee has given me a holistic view of activity within the health and care space which has enabled us to contribute to our profession and industry.
During my time on the committee and as Chair we set up several working parties including, to name a few: Diabetes, Anti-biotic Resistance, E-cigarettes, Population Health Management; and more recently Electronic Health Records. We also ran several events including our annual hot topics event and a couple of round table events to discuss issues such as the National Health Service and mental health with experts within and outside our industry to ensure our working parties are focused on the right areas.
Working parties are a great way to get involved
I have regularly been involved with working parties from “Exploring The Critical Path” that was presented to The Staple Inn Actuarial Society on 6th December 2006 to more recently as Deputy Chair of the Diabetes working party and leading a Health and Care workstream of ICAT (IFoA Covid-19 Action Taskforce).
Being either a member of a working party or a committee member, in my experience, is a great way to widen your network and explore new areas that are outside your day job. I have worked with many talented people within and outside the profession which has been an invaluable experience for developing new skills and knowledge.
Several new working parties that are currently in the process of being set up including: Mental Health, Climate Change and the Future Role of the Health & Care Actuary. Please keep an eye out for these adverts and I encourage you to join these new working parties as this is a great way to get involved to contribute to your profession whilst equipping you with new skills and knowledge for the future.
Next steps for me
As my current role as Chair comes to an end, I have volunteered to stay on as a member of the Health and Care Board and I will continue my current role on the Diabetes working party.
I encourage actuaries to get involved to widen your experience and skills for future roles and to contribute to our great profession.
Next steps for you
If you would like to hear about ways you could volunteer to support the IFoA Health and Care community, please contact Debbie Atkins, Head of Engagement, to register your interest and we will keep you informed.