The MCA is the representative body for the UK consulting sector and its annual awards demonstrate the positive impact consulting has on our society. The finalists for the 2023 MCA Awards have been announced today.

Dr Nicole Samuel, an Associate Partner at The PSC has been shortlisted as Team Leader – Consultant of the year. This award is for individuals who demonstrate exceptional performance in building and leading project teams of consultants and working effectively with clients in that role.

Nicole is a leader in the Strategy practice at The PSC, leveraging her medical training, front-line clinical experience and expertise in leading complex service redesign to enable clinically-led strategic change.

Her passions for healthcare innovation and developing equitable healthcare systems in which services are designed around what users need drive her in supporting clients to navigate the challenges and opportunities that face them. As a leader, she creates environments in which her team is empowered, supporting them to learn new skills and grow. She brings a wealth of experience in business case development and strategic projects across clinical and academic spheres, and particularly enjoys bringing together multi-disciplinary teams and health and care systems.

Her work includes building the business case for a £600m hospital redevelopment, supported by an integrated programme of clinical and digital transformation to improve access and quality of care for 1.5million people, and bringing together 24 health and care organisations to develop their maternity clinical strategy, integrating mental and physical health for mothers and babies across a region.

Her ability to forge deep, strategic relationships, collaborate with and engage stakeholders across disciplines and seniority levels and build consensus in politically sensitive environments has brought about project success. While supporting an NHS Trust to reconfigure their hospital sites, she managed to bring together parties to agree on a solution for clinical sustainability, despite six previous unsuccessful attempts from the Trust.

Nicole said: “I am incredibly honoured to be nominated as a finalist in the MCA Team Leader Consultant of the year. This nomination is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our exceptional team at The PSC. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside such talented individuals who consistently strive for excellence in delivering impactful solutions to our clients. It is through their expertise, collaboration and unwavering commitment that we have achieved remarkable outcomes. I share this nomination with my incredible team, and look forward to continuing our journey of driving positive change together.”

For the next stage of the process, Nicole will be interviewed by the MCA Awards judging panel om the 26 June, before the winners are announced at the awards ceremony on Monday 9 October at Grosvenor Hotel, London.

More information on the MCA awards can be found at www.mca.org.uk/mca-awards and Nicole's profile on the MCA awards site can be found here.

We wish Nicole and all the other nominees the best of luck!