I am not a doctor of medicine. Traditionally there is a great divide between the Arts and Sciences, and it is a truism that it is easier to bridge for someone with a scientific grounding than someone educated in the humanities. I did have to gain very quickly a working knowledge of bacteriology to set up the museum, but working in a teaching hospital with a closely linked School of Medicine did have its advantages. I was able to call on a wealth of specialist expertise. And the fact that I am not a scientist and have had to understand the bacteriology in laymen's terms perhaps makes it easier for me to convey the information to the general public and to schoolchildren in easily comprehensible terms.
Simplicity is one of the keys to communication.
The Museum relies heavily on volunteer guides for its day to day staffing. But we also have volunteer guides with no prior medical knowledge, a retired barrister, a librarian, a sports physiotherapist, teachers, businesspeople and they can be just as good as the guides with medical or nursing expertise. What matters is enthusiasm and the ability to communicate. The Museum was set up with a number of aims, one of the most important being as an educational facility to further the public perception and understanding of science and the history of medicine. Visitors come from all over the World.