Physician · Keynote Speaker · Moderator
Dr. Sabine Fonderson
The doctor who says what healthcare won't.
I work the front line of medicine, so I know exactly where it breaks. I take that reality to the stage, along with the AI and the hard ideas that can actually fix it.
TEDxHotelschool The Hague
The Power of Humour in the Art of Medicine
TEDx doesn't hand the stage to anyone. In my talk I make the case that AI should take the data and the admin off our plates, so doctors can hand empathy, humour, and the human moment back to the patient in front of them. Watch it, then decide whether I can hold your room.
Expertise & Authority
Built on the Front Line, Not the Sidelines
Practising GP
Owner, Huisartspraktijk MSF — Rotterdam
PhD Candidate
Erasmus MC — Paediatric Primary Care
MSc Paediatric Emergency Medicine
University of Edinburgh
Board Member
Zorggroep Rijnmond Dokters
Former A&E Physician
UK National Health Service
TEDx Speaker
TEDxHotelschool The Hague
The Story
A Doctor Who Refuses to Look Away
I run my own general practice in Rotterdam, sit on the board of Zorggroep Rijnmond Dokters, and I'm a PhD candidate at Erasmus MC researching why children end up at the GP, and how poverty and air pollution decide that long before they walk through my door. I trained in A&E in the UK's NHS and hold a master's in Paediatric Emergency Medicine from Edinburgh.
I founded an expat health clinic for the patients who kept falling through the cracks, and I've been coding since I was 19. Today I build AI patient simulators that train internationally qualified doctors for the Dutch system. I speak from the exam room, not a slide deck.
Book me and you get the uncomfortable questions other speakers skip, backed by the clinical and academic credibility to make a room take them seriously.
Featured At
Signature Topics
Talks That Don't Pull Punches
Every talk is built around a question most rooms would rather skip, and Sabine has the clinical credibility to make them face it.
AI Won't Replace Doctors. Doctors Who Ignore It Will Be Replaced.
A clear-eyed look at where AI actually belongs in medicine, where it's already failing patients, and what every leader needs to decide before the technology decides for them.
Your Patients Don't Trust You. Here's Why.
The hard truth about why people quietly walk away from their doctors, and what it takes to rebuild trust in a system optimised for everything except the person in the room.
Stop Waiting for Permission
How women in medicine and business get sidelined, and the unglamorous moves that actually break the ceiling. No platitudes, just what worked.
Digital Health Is Burning Out the People It Promised to Help
Why more screens, portals, and dashboards are pushing clinicians and patients further apart, and how to use technology without losing the relationship that medicine runs on.
We Need to Talk About the Mistakes We Bury
An honest reckoning with medical error: why the system hides it, what that silence costs patients, and how real transparency makes care safer for everyone.
Hosting the Conversations Everyone Else Avoids
Moderating the panels and debates that get tense fast, keeping them honest, sharp, and worth the audience's time instead of letting them dissolve into polite nothing.
Hosting & Moderation
More Than a Host. A Force.
Sabine doesn't just keep an event running. She keeps it honest. Whether it's a high-stakes panel or a one-on-one on stage, she draws out the real answers and makes sure the audience leaves with something worth their time.
Conference Moderator
Keeps multi-speaker sessions on time, on point, and honest, without letting anyone hide behind their slides.
Panel Host
Pushes experts past their talking points so the audience actually learns something they couldn't Google.
Keynote Interviewer
Asks the question the room is thinking but won't say out loud, then follows up until there's a real answer.
Event Storyteller
Ties a sprawling agenda into one clear thread, so people leave remembering the point, not just the day.
Trilingual MC
Hosts in English, Dutch, and French, reading the room in whichever language it's thinking in.
Testimonials
Don't Take My Word For It
"Great meeting you and love your presenting skills."
Karen Oldhoven
Event MC, Moderator & Facilitator
After a speaking engagement
Media & Press
In the Spotlight
DoctorConnect
“In mijn praktijk wil ik laten zien dat het anders kan”
On rebuilding general practice on my own terms, taking back control of the agenda, and proving medicine can be done differently.
View
Libelle
Libelle Ster Nominee
Named one of the women stepping up to help expats and students reach care when the pandemic shut them out.
View
Amazon
Unbelievable Stories from the Emergency Department
My collection of unforgettable A&E cases — funny, shocking, and every one of them true.
ViewPublished In
Book Dr. Sabine
Bring the Hard Questions to Your Stage
Tell us about your event below. We'll be back to you within 48 hours, with a straight answer on fit and availability.
Contact Information
Event Details
Topic & Investment
Tell Us More
This will open your email client with all details pre-filled. We typically respond within 24 to 48 hours.
2026 Availability
I take on only 8 speaking engagements per quarter, so every room gets my full presence and preparation.
Languages
Direct Contact
sabine@drfonderson.comOfficial Bio — For Event Organizers
Dr. Sabine Fonderson is a practising general practitioner, healthcare entrepreneur, and international keynote speaker and moderator. She owns her own practice in Rotterdam, serves on the board of Zorggroep Rijnmond Dokters, and is a PhD candidate at Erasmus MC researching paediatric primary care. She trained in Accident & Emergency within the UK's NHS and holds a master's in Paediatric Emergency Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. A coder since the age of 19, she now builds AI tools that train internationally qualified doctors for the Dutch system, and spoke at TEDxHotelschool The Hague on the power of humour in the art of medicine. She presents and moderates in English, Dutch, and French.
Ready to drop into programs, intros, and event marketing.