-02.png){kind=small}
-01.png)
Meet Your Course Tutor
Dr Rishi Dhir
What makes me tick?
Teaching is a unique art and each student, with their own individual needs, strengths and weaknesses, presents a unique challenge. The greatest excitement I get is taking on the challenge of new students every day, adapting my teaching style to suit their needs. My aim is to help them grow, take on challenges no matter how difficult they may be and realise their potential to produce great results. Above all my motto is ‘there is no such word as impossible’.
Where did I train?
Training in Edinburgh as a doctor, university afforded me some fantastic experiences such as working for the European and Russian Space Agencies, winning three competitions to put the first student experiment in space (2002-4) and affording me the opportunity to present in an international environment, a frightening experience being chucked in the so-called ‘deep end’ but which gave me early confidence in public speaking.
I started my basic surgical training and higher orthopaedic training on the Royal London rotation, Whitechapel (2006-17) completing this in October 2017 and am currently working in Melbourne, Australia, developing international teaching links and undertaking a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery.
What are my interests?
I’ve always maintained a long-term interest in singing and music production, performing professionally individually and in gospel choirs at venues such as the O2, Wembley stadium, the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Tattoo. Music is the so-called spiritual food to my soul and helps me to relax.
However, it was really with politics that I found my calling and when the junior doctor contract dispute of 2015 hit numerous doctors, I became a spokesman performing numerous political interviews on BBC, Sky News, Channel five news amongst others. The high-pressure environment, the need to deliver ‘headline phrases’ in a fluent, confident manner and defend your position appealed to me.
Bringing it all together?
Above all, I’ve always found teaching to be both interesting and fascinating; having the skill to be able to simplify concepts and nurture them in others, particularly in oral exams where I felt there was a real gap. It hit me that music, politics, interviews…all these things I love and have grown up with…provide transferrable skills to bring to an oral exam (which is really – A JOB INTERVIEW!) and that was the inspiration for my LET’S TALK series.
Faculty Members
Sheba Basheer
Post CCT Fellow
I am currently a post CCT fellow who trained in the Yorkshire deanery. I've taken a keen interest in teaching throughout my career to date and am an ATLS Instructor. My specialty interests are paediatric orthopaedic surgery, soft tissue knee injuries and trauma. It's tough, one of the toughest times in your life. Commit to getting this done and get your team (household/mates) on board. Make a timetable - starting with your weakest topics - and stick with it. Be sure to put a few (small) breaks in that timetable too!
Toby Baring
Surgeon
Position: Shoulder and elbow surgeon, Homerton University Hospital Teaching experience: I have taught on many viva courses. Head of postgraduate and undergraduate training. Authored various revision book chapters. Love to teach Top exam tip: You have to convince the examiners you know what you’re talking about!
James Berwin
Post CCT Fellow
Southmead, North Bristol Trust. Severn Deanery. Teaching interests: I’ve had extensive experience teaching undergraduates and postgraduates regionally and nationally. My aim is to ensure delegates have at least one concrete learning point to take away for a given session. I’m interested in basic science, trauma, hips and paeds. For the most part I will try to explain things in a way that is simple to understand and reproducible under exam pressure. Top tip: Get the 6 and move on. That means… 1. Say what you see. 2. Stick to broad principles and keep it brief. 3. If you can’t say it, draw it.
Rahul Bhattacharyya
Fellow
MBCHB(Hons), FRCS (T&O), MD(Res), MSc (DIST), MRCS Position: Senior Clinical Knee Fellow, Kings College Hospital London; Honorary research fellow, Imperial College London Background/teaching experience: Mr Bhattacharyya completed his orthopaedic training from the West of Scotland (Glasgow) training program obtaining CCT in July 2021. He has a significant interest in medical education, having pioneered the use of Cognitive Task Analysis tools in orthopaedic trauma and knee surgery training. He was awarded an MD by Imperial College London in 2019 for this work. He teaches on various national courses aimed at preparing trainees for the FRCS (Orth) exam. He is currently faculty in the MSc in Surgical Innovation at Imperial College London (ICL) and supervises undergraduate medical students and BSc students at ICL. Top exam tip: 3 P’s: Prepare, practice, perform!
Anna Bridgens
Consultant
Paediatric Orthopaedic and Trauma Consultant at St George’s Hospital. Following my registrar training on the Percival Pott Rotation, I competed two paediatric orthopaedic fellowships at Great Ormond Street and the Evelina Children’s Hospital. I was appointed as a consultant in June 2020 in a central London trauma centre and now have a broad paediatric practice with a special interest in neurodisability. Top exam tip: Find a good group of friends to study, practise and go on courses with. Don’t be scared to be put on the spot - pester consultants to viva you!
Gavin Brown
Consultant
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and Royal Hospital for Children and Young People Role: Consultant in lower limb arthroplasty and paediatric trauma, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Digital Education and Orthopaedics (University of Edinburgh) Educational interest: I have always been interested and involved in teaching, both of medical students and orthopaedic registrars. After a clinical teaching fellowship between ST6 and ST7, in which I successfully improved the orthopaedic undergraduate medicine module, I became more involved with the university officially, taking up a Senior Clinical Lecturer post after my CCT. I am currently the E-Learning Lead for a new, part-online medical degree for existing healthcare practitioners and have used some of this experience to improve and deliver online learning to the orthopaedic trainees in South-East Scotland. Top exam tip: Basic science is not just for the basic science station! Having a good foundation in science is vital to scoring well in every station at the viva.
Vicky Cherry
Consultant
I am currently undertaking a hand surgery fellowship and have recently been appointed as a consultant in Fife Hospital (starting August 2023) having trained on the Dundee rotation as a registrar. Honorary Clinical Lecturer for the University of Dundee, with experience teaching medical students and junior doctors alike. Love of small group teaching, identifying knowledge gaps and emphasising understanding over memorisation. Top top for the FRCS: the examiners are humans, and in general they want you to pass. Listen to them!
James Cruickshank
Post CCT Fellow
MBChB, BSc (Hons), FRCS (T&O) I am a lower limb fellow working at Harrogate hospital having completed my registrar training on the Yorkshire deanery. I have been actively involved in teaching at both undergraduate and post graduate levels during my training and have been faculty on a number of courses. I organise and run the weekly Yorkshire deanery registrar teaching which is focused for the FRCS exam and I am an honorary clinical lecturer at the University of Leeds. I am soon to start fellowships in knee surgery first in Harrogate and then Derby. Top exam tip: Practice techniques on how to say something sensible about topics you know nothing about and haven’t revised, because you will get asked them. With the right system you can get through pretty much anything.
Peter Davies
Post CCT Fellow
Pete Davies is currently a post CCT fellow working in Brisbane and then Perth, Australia to follow having trained on the Dundee rotation. He has previously worked as a full time anatomy demonstrator at the University of St Andrews where he developed his teaching skills before starting run through training. Peter is an Honorary clinical teacher at the university of Dundee and is involved with lecturing and clinical skills teaching for medical students. He is interested in soft tissue knee and sports orthopaedics, as well as revision arthroplasty and trauma, and has fellowships arranged in Brisbane and then Perth starting August 2022. Exam top tip: You don’t need to know everything to pass the exam, and in fact don’t need to know a great deal of depth in each area to pass. If you put the time into preparation, you will pass. Also, for Part 1, UKITE is a pretty good marker of where you are currently at.
Jagwinder Dhaliwal
Consultant
Mr Dhaliwal graduated with distinction in 2005 from St Georges University of London . He completed higher Trauma and Orthopaedic training in North East London, obtaining his certificate of completion of training in 2017. This was followed by completion of highly competitive subspeciality training fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at Stanmore hospital London. Furthermore having been awarded BOFAS foot and ankle fellowship award in 2017 he then embarked on an internationally renowned foot and and ankle fellowship in Sydney Australia. He currently works as a Trauma and Orthopaedic Consultant at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust. He is a senior academic tutor and delivers formal teaching to Aston University medical students. He enjoys outdoor pursuits including hiking and cricket. He is married to an oncologist and has three school age children.
Ewan Goudie
Consultant
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a subspecialty interest in hip and knee surgery. Following Orthopaedic Training in Edinburgh he undertook an Australian Orthopaedic Association Arthroplasty Fellowship at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.
Michael Goldring
Post-CCT Fellow
MBChB (Hons), Msc (Dist), FRCS (Orth) Position: Post-CCT Fellow Royal London Hospital Teaching: Numerous Orthopaedic Research UK courses including ST3 interview prep courses. Part of the original committee establishing the Percival Pott ST3 Interview course Advanced Trauma Life Support Instructor Exam Tip: Remember, everyone has the knowledge to pass Part B as you’ve already got through Part A. You now just have to convey that knowledge to the examiner in words.
Renjit Isaac
Fellow
Position- Fellow in Arthroplasty & Arthroscopy (Knee) at Leicester General Hospital. Teaching experience- Faculty in 'FRCS Mentor Group' since 2019. Provide FRCS teaching locally in the Trust. Top tip in exam - be aware of time in viva and finish describing Xrays with probable diagnosis in 30 seconds.
Simond Jagernauth
Consultant
Consultant Upper Limb Orthopaedic Surgeon North Middlesex University Hospital Teaching Interest and experience: Upper Limb. Previously done fellowships in Brisbane Australia and Liverpool and was the national trainee representative for education on the BESS (British Elbow and Shoulder Surgeon committee). Exam top tip: Plan a revision schedule and keep practicing questions!
Andrew Keightley
Consultant
MBBS BSc FRCS Tr+Orth Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedics Upper Limb Specialty Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust I graduated from Imperial College London and have completed my surgical training in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex deanery. I have completed fellowships at the Royal Surrey Hospital and the Wrightington Upper Limb Unit. I have attained educational qualifications from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Glasgow with advanced certificates of clinical education. I have been Faculty on regional and national FRCS courses and have contributed towards FRCS exam technique books. Locally I lead on many educational courses and act as educational and clinical supervisors. Exam Tip: Stay Calm and Believe in yourself. It's a discussion between colleagues.
Surjit Lidder
Surgeon
BSc (Hons), MBBS, MRCS (Eng), MFSTEd, MFSEM (UK), MSc (Tr & Orth), FRCS (Tr & Orth), FRACS (Orth) The Royal Melbourne Hospital Epworth Richmond Surjit is a specialist Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon based in Melbourne with fellowship qualifications from both England and Australia. He specialises in pelvic trauma and lower limb arthroplasty. He completed higher training in the South East London Deanery obtaining his CCT in 2017. He undertook fellowships in hip and knee arthroplasty (Royal Melbourne Hospital and Epworth Hospital, Melbourne 2017-2018), pelvic and acetabular surgery (Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne 2018-2021) and pelvic trauma (R Adams Crowley Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore, USA 2018). He has a keen interest in medical education, is a member of AO faculty and actively involved in orthopaedic research. Tips: Don’t fall for a foreigner on fellowship……. you might have to sit another specialty exam.
Darren McCusker
Post CCT Fellow
I previously trained on the Northern Ireland registrar rotation. I’m due to start a shoulder and elbow fellowship In Liverpool August 22. My specialist interest is shoulder and elbow. Exam tips: 1. practice doing clinicals and vivas on random topics and go through the whole process for each case to improve habits. 2. Other tip would be to park each station after you have finished it because you generally have no idea how it went. I got my marksheets via a subject access request, the couple of 5’s I got I thought at least one was an 8. Some of my 8’s I genuinely hadn’t revised and prayed for a 5/6.
Zuhair Nawaz
Consultant
FRCS (Tr + Orth.) BSc Hons Zuhair trained at Imperial College School of Medicine and completed his Orthopaedic training via the London Surgical Programme. He has internationally renowned fellowship training in Joint Replacement, Complex Joint Reconstruction and Trauma. He completed his Arthroplasty fellowship training at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore and trauma fellowship in Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary. On completion of his training, he was appointed as a Locum Consultant at Royal Surrey Hospital, Guildford and then appointed to Frimley Park Hospital. He is a member of the British Association for Surgery of the Hip and Knee. Zuhair has a broad practice encompassing all aspects of hip and knee surgery, including arthroscopy, ACL reconstruction, osteotomy, patellofemoral problems, hip and knee replacements, revision hip and knee replacements and lower limb complex trauma. Zuhair has strong research background with particular interest in cartilage regeneration and lower limb fracture management. Zuhair has published and lectured on several occasions regarding knee, hip and trauma surgery at a national and international level. Besides research, Zuhair has extensive teaching experience with both groups and individuals. As lead faculty on several courses such as ORUK, Kings, Chertsey and Stanmore FRCS courses; Zuhair has developed skills in simplifying really difficult subjects whilst also refining and improving candidates’ exam technique. Top tip: Remember you only have 5 minutes per case, practice economy of words and completion of the viva within 5 minutes
Matt Philpott
Post CCT Fellow
I have just completed my registrar training on the Mersey rotation. Subspecialist interests: Foot and Ankle, Limb reconstruction and Major Trauma. Recently took and passed the first FRCS part 2 in COVid times. Dr Rishi’s courses were instrumental. Top exam tips - get a good revision group, get as many people to question you as possible and then practice, practice practice
Delukshan Srikantharajah
Post CCT Fellow
BSc (Hons), MBChB, FRCS (Tr&Orth) I am currently a post CCT upper limb fellow having recently completed my registrar training on the SE London programme and have a longstanding interest in teaching. I have been involved as faculty on several courses including ST3 interview preparation courses and FRCS revision courses. I have also been invited to teach as faculty on national ORUK courses. After gaining my CCT I am due to undertake shoulder and elbow fellowships at Addenbrooke’s, Cambridge and St George’s Hospital, London. During this time I plan on completing a PG Cert in Medical Education in order to develop my teaching skills and gain a formal teaching qualification. Exam top tips: Answer the question being asked, structure your answer, and let the examiner ask you questions (concise answers, then give it back to the examiner in order to progress through the station and hit the mark schemes i.e don’t rattle on for 5mins)
Andy Stone
Post CCT Fellow
Andy is undertaking a fellowship in Shoulder and Elbow surgery at the major trauma centre in Brighton, UK having completed his training in the KSS Deanery and passed the FRCS in 2019. His main interests are complex fractures and dislocations of the shoulder and elbow . His teaching portfolio includes being an Anatomy Demonstrator at the University Of Sussex, leading practical sawbone workshops at the Kings College London National Surgical Conference and being faculty on Courses for both Core Surgical and ST3 interviews. He chaired the regional Shoulder Instability teaching and organised the regional shoulder term. Top tip – with tertiary referral topics, be safe and say you will refer on but don’t avoid the question on management – show your knowledge even if you aren’t going to do the operation! For example when managing a potential bone primary “I would refer the patient to my regional sarcoma centre. The principles of management would include an MDT approach, local and distant tumour staging with limb MRI, CT chest, abdomen and pelvis and bone scan and tumour grading with biopsy”
Caesar Wek
Post CCT Fellow
BSC (Hons), MB ChB, FRCS (Orth)AFHEA. Trained in London on the Guy’s, King’s & St Thomas’ rotation. He is passionate about teaching and was an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Barts Medical School where he also obtained a Teaching qualification. He was previously the BOTA Rep for his rotation and has coordinated a number of courses including the Regional South London-KSS virtual FRCS teaching in 2020. He has an interest in Arthroplasty and basic sciences and is due to commence his Arthroplasty Fellowship in 2022. He is an avid football fan and like most Liverpool supporters, is based in London.