I enjoyed reading the conversation between Professor Dame Jane Dacre and Dr Seán Coghlan on phase 2 of the medical education and training review. Supporting doctors at the beginning of their careers is a vital part of what we do at the RCP. This month, we removed membership fees for foundation doctors, making membership more accessible and helping to support the doctors who are the future of medicine.

Shaping the future of medicine is also at the heart of our RCP strategy 2026–30, and this issue of Commentary explores how it was shaped by our members.

This edition also features several celebrations. Congratulations to all the winners of the Excellence in Patient Care Awards in July, who I was delighted to meet at The Spine in Liverpool, and to the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services Accreditation Scheme, which has recently reached 50 accredited services.

There have been other successes featured in Commentary this summer, which I am proud that the RCP has supported. Dr Jack Parry-Jones wrote an article to mark the founding of the College of Intensive Care Medicine, of which the RCP is one of eight parent colleges. In a thoughtful piece, Dr Wajiha Rizwan shares how she founded the Medical Women's Foundation Pakistan and how the RCP's Global Women Leaders Programme in Pakistan helped to support that work. I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with Wajiha and some of the wonderful delegates on the Global Women Leaders Programme in Lahore, Pakistan. I am so proud of what she and they all have achieved. The feature on the Jeelani Drabu Palliative Care Programme also highlights a valuable course which is supporting physicians across the globe.

The value of this global work is also explored in an interview with Professor Keith McAdam, discussing his work with ECSACOP and tropical medicine, and in a piece by Dr Andrew Blanshard on the Tuanku Nazrin Travelling Fellowship. It is wonderful to read about the variety of work that physicians do across the world, and to hear from both a resident doctor and someone reflecting on decades of a medical career. It has been a privilege being involved in the global work over the years and supporting our colleagues at ECSACOP and the College of Physicians of Malaysia.

Finally, Dr Chris Packham, RCP special adviser on public health and prevention, makes a compelling case for why physicians must lead the prevention agenda. His article shares the work of the RCP public health and prevention advisory group and is a reminder of the work that needs to be done to build a healthier future. Prevention and addressing health inequalities is something close to my heart and I am pleased as a college that this is one our top three policy priorities.

Thank you to all our authors and contributors to this edition and our lovely Commentary team.

I hope you enjoy reading this edition.

Wishing you all the best,

Mumtaz.