Iain Swan.
Iain Swan was a Senior Lecturer in Otorhinolaryngology, University of Glasgow and Consultant Otorhinolaryngologist, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Scottish Section MRC Institute of Hearing Research 1986-2016.
Iain had a happy childhood growing up in Carbeth and attended school at Glasgow Academy. He enjoyed school and was an academic and studious pupil keeping his head down and focusing on his studies, although he did excel at shooting and won interscholastic medals on the shooting team.
After completing his medical degree at the University of Glasgow, he did specialist training in otorhinolaryngology in West of Scotland. During this period, he obtained his MD and FRCS degrees.
He was especially proud to have undertaken a one-year Clinical Fellowship in Tübingen, Germany, under the renowned German Professor Dieter Plester.
After completing his training, he was appointed the second University of Glasgow Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Otorhinolaryngology based at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary and MRC Institute of Hearing Research, a position he held from 1986 to 2016.
Throughout his working life, he had contributed to many scientific publications, but his greatest legacy was in his teaching and mentorship. He ran the Temporal Bone Dissection Course and the Clinical Otology and Audiology Course in Glasgow for many years and was on the faculties of numerous national and international courses. His down-to-earth and evidence-based approaches to medicine made great impressions on both his peers and trainees alike. When colleagues needed an honest opinion, the first person they usually approached was Iain Swan.
His clinical interest was in the management of chronic middle ear disease. His more specific research interests were leading the Scottish trial of steroids for idiopathic facial palsy, and the Scottish Ear Nose and Throat Outcomes Study.
His otology practice reflected his philosophy, driven by outcome rather than what was perceived as trendy at the time.
He was elected President of the Otology Section at the Royal Society of Medicine in 2008-9 and was on the editorial board of the Journal of Laryngology and Otology as well as being the reviewer of numerous scientific journals.
In 2007, he became more involved in the Glasgow University Medical School undergraduate course, progressing through being Deputy Director of years 4 and 5 to being Director of the 4th year, then Deputy Head of the Undergraduate Medical School until he retired in 2017.
Iain had a wide range of hobbies including cycling, hiking, cooking, wine collection and playing bridge. Above all, he was a family man. Iain was survived by his wife Helen, his son Cailean and his daughter Rowan, along with daughter-in-law Holly and son-in-law Allan.
