Mike Porter

Senior lecturer and academic; Born: September 18, 1946; Died: May 13, 2013. MIKE Porter, who has died aged 66, was a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at Edinburgh University. The improvement of medical practice was such an important mission in his life that he spent his entire career in the supportive environment of the university in pursuit of his goal. He was passionately committed to broadening the learning of medical students to include the economic, social, political and psychological factors that affect people’s health and ill health. Even more important were the years he spent ensuring this teaching element became a respected and integrated part of the medical curriculum.

Alistair Michael Douglas Porter was one of three children born to Grace and Keith Porter. He remained close to and fond of his brother John and his sister Juliet and their families. They were brought up as a religious family and, although he eventually moved away from religion, he maintained a powerful moral dimension allied to a calm rationality throughout his life.

He was educated at Bradfield College in Reading and after a period of voluntary service working with children with physical disabilities he went on to Durham University to read economics and sociology and then to complete a Master of Philosophy in Social Sciences, the first person to achieve such an award at Durham.

In 1970 he joined the Community Medical Care Research Unit of the University of Edinburgh as a researcher and became a lecturer in the department of medical practice the following year. He was promoted to senior lecturer in 1991.

His early research work was in the organisation of diabetes care; then in the 1980s he began a long and productive working relationship with Professor John Howie, examining the effect on doctors of working under stress. He subsequently became interested in quality of care and worked with academic and general practice colleagues to examine measures of quality in general practice. Prof Howie recalled that it was Mr Porter who did the ground work for patient satisfaction measures which evolved into the concept of “enablement” which is still being used internationally.

Prof Howie said: “Mike’s greatest love was probably not research, but teaching. His contribution to the Edinburgh curriculum and those going through it was massive.” He introduced and led these courses so that medical sociology became a popular and respected part of the curriculum. He also pioneered highly innovative teaching methods.

One of his former students, now a qualified doctor, is Tom Roberts, who said: “Mikey-P was the soundtrack to hundreds of students’ early morning lectures. He helped form and inspire a whole generation of doctors. His gentle manner, massive heart and unwavering passion helped instil a sense of what was important in medicine. He taught us that beyond cells and disease there was a whole world the patient inhabits. Without this we would not be the doctors we are today.”

Just before retiring he co-authored a widely used and critically acclaimed textbook for undergraduate medical students, Psychology and Sociology Applied to Medicine, that was highly recommended in the BMA Book Awards in 2010. One reviewer said: “This is an engaging, thorough and very important subject presentation that every medical practitioner should read.”

To his many friends outside work he offered generosity not just in the material sense but of his time and attention. He was a great listener who always gave something back, making conversations with him invariably rewarding. Everyone will remember him as a special friend because he made everybody feel special.

He had a life-long love of classical music, regularly visiting the Queen’s Hall and Usher Hall and, sadly, leaves behind a stack of tickets for future concerts.

He was fit and active and keen on walking. He loved to explore anywhere with mountains and had walked in the Alps and Pyrenees as well as the ranges of Corsica, Majorca, Slovenia, Croatia, Montene gro and the Italian Dolomites.

In February this year he was tramping a four-day route in New Zealand. But his walking delight was roaming in the Highlands of Scotland, often with friends but also happy in his own company and frequently sleeping out a night or two under the stars.

He travelled in the 1970s through Iran and Syria and more recently visited Borneo, Gambia, Malawi, the Caribbean and much of Europe. He was a graceful downhill and cross-country skier and a keen off-road cyclist – described once as a 60-year-old kid as he sped off across a field.

He met Adrienne Sillar in 1978 and over 35 years their relationship was underpinned by total devotion and commitment. They had three sons: Tim died when only seven weeks old; Nick, 31, and Robbie, 28. Their father was immensely proud of them not only for their considerable achievements in their chosen fields but also because of their creativity and independence of thought.

Friends will remember Mike for many reasons – for entertaining at home in Newington and cooking meticulous meals for large numbers of guests; for his ready smile and infectious chuckle and his unselfishness. His family will remember how much he cared about and loved them.

For generations of doctors his memory will live on in the daily actions of their professional lives and our experiences as patients will be better because of Mike Porter.

He is survived by Adrienne and their sons Nick and Robbie.