Anders Sondén

Current Roles in Research and Education

• Vice Head of Department and Head of Undergraduate Education at KI SÖS 
• Course Director of Clinical Medicine – Surgery, Medical Program, KI
• Research Supervisor
• Representative of Södersjukhuset on the Education Council
• Board Member of the International Medical Exchange Program (IMEX)

Current Role in Healthcare

I am a trained surgeon, having completed my education at Södersjukhuset, and I currently work within the Department of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery and Abdominal Wall Surgery at the hospital. Following a comprehensive surgical training focused on emergency surgery and traumatology, I specialized in advanced endoscopy during the 2010s, including endoscopic ultrasound and ERCP, which I continue to pursue alongside my responsibilities at KI SÖS. 

Academic Awards

• Matts Halldin Prize, 2018
• KIPRIME Fellow, 2023

With a doctoral degree in medical basic science, a postdoctoral period in experimental traumatology, and a more senior research role in clinical studies, I have broad experience in the field of medical research. Later years, I have focused on research within the field of medical education with the aim to develop work-based education and to increase inclusion and accessibility in higher education. Hence I`m leading a PhD project investigating the opportunities and challenges associated with interprofessional supervision—specifically, the supervision of students from a different professional background. This initiative aims to improve interprofessional learning in our healthcare education programs, create new opportunities for collaborative learning, and ultimately enhance teamwork in clinical settings. In another project, we are exploring how newly graduated physicians perceive the transition from medical student to clinical supervisor and what support they require to embrace their new role. Recently, I launched a project aimed at deepening our understanding of the academic journey of medical students with ADHD. This project examines how these students perceive and understand their diagnosis, their considerations regarding disclosing their condition, and their experiences of the support provided by the university. Ultimately, this project intends to lay the groundwork for recommendations to universities on how to better support students with ADHD, thereby improving accessibility in education and reducing the health challenges faced by these students.

I have been engaged in medical education at Karolinska Institutet (KI) for many years, initially as a clinical teacher, later as a course director in the Medical Program, and as a member of the Program Council. In recent years, I have also served as the Undergraduate Education Coordinator at KISÖS. In total, I have approximately 30 weeks of higher education pedagogical training.

In parallel with my educational roles at KI, I have spent several years as the Director of Studies for the specialist training program (ST) in surgery at Södersjukhuset.

Although I am interested in the full spectrum of medical education, my primary focus lies in clinical sciences, particularly workplace-based education. I am dedicated to understanding and improving workplace-based learning, both uniprofessional and interprofessional. Consequently, I have been involved in numerous improvement projects within medical education, most recently as part of the project group that developed the new Medical Program at Karolinska Institutet. I have also served for an extended period on the Curriculum Committee for the new Medical Program, with responsibility for clinical sciences.