Rate My Professor Malcolm Kendall-Smith

Dr Malcolm Kendall-Smith serves as a Teaching Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago's Dunedin campus. He earned his medical degree from the University of Otago and has a background in philosophy, having previously worked as a university philosophy tutor. Kendall-Smith pursued a career in military medicine, joining the British Royal Air Force as a Flight Lieutenant medical officer. He completed two tours in Iraq between 2001 and 2005. In 2005, he refused orders for a third deployment to Basra, arguing that the Iraq War violated international law and constituted an illegal act of aggression. This stance led to his court-martial in 2006 at Aldershot, where he was convicted on five counts of disobeying lawful commands. He was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, serving four months before release on licence, dismissed from the service, and fined £20,000 in costs. His case marked the first instance of a British armed forces member being charged for refusing deployment to Iraq on ethical grounds.

Returning to New Zealand after his military service, Dr Kendall-Smith joined the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine as a Teaching Fellow, contributing to medical student education in areas such as clinical skills and integrated case-based learning. He has been a key member of the report review teams for multiple publications by bpacnz, a leading New Zealand organization for primary care best practices with ties to the University of Otago. These include Best Tests bulletins on hepatitis therapeutic drug monitoring and STIs (2009), and BPJ issues covering pain management (September 2008), anaphylaxis, opioids, and pregnancy (December 2008), dilemmas in prescribing for elderly (February 2008), managing insomnia and enuresis (June 2008), improving Māori health (May 2008), impetigo, scabies, and fungal infections (February 2009), acne, sexual health, and type 2 diabetes (April 2009), and adult depression (special edition 2009). His involvement underscores expertise in general practice, clinical guidelines, and primary healthcare. Dr Kendall-Smith's ethical stand has influenced discussions on conscientious objection, medical ethics, and international law in academic and public spheres.