[1] After being awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in 1993, Parks carried out a research project in Belfast at the Department of Surgery in Queens University.

[2] As of 2024, Parks is president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh[3] and is also general secretary of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA).

[9] He was awarded a Travelling Fellowship from the James IV Association of Surgeons in March 2004, enabling him to visit surgical centres around the world to study techniques in HPB surgery.

[11] He is also a past-president of the Great Britain & Ireland Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (GBIHPBA), an organisation which promotes improving healthcare in HPB disease and supports research, training and public awareness in the speciality.

[12] He has received honorary fellowships from: Parks' bibliography includes more than 180 papers and 48 book chapters, and he has edited 11 surgical textbooks.