Speakers
Meg Birks
Alex Bolt
Abdul Hassan
Alistair Hunter
Emma Reay
Specialist Society
How Hand Surgeons Can Foster Enthusiasm and Engagement Across a Whole Career
Chair: Meg Birks, Co-Chair: Alistair Hunter
In line with the overall congress theme this session will explore the different ways hand surgeons and the BSSH are nurturing the profession. From student members and workshops to trainee representatives on committees in the early years we have the Diploma and Mentoring programmes for navigating the transition to consultant practice. Later on different opportunities beckon with multicentre research projects, committee work, work with the Hand Therapists and masses of overseas ventures. There are a many different ways to find new challenges and greater meaning in the subspecialty right up to retirement. In some cases colleagues continue to make significant contributions after retiring from UK clinical practice, benefiting many trainees and colleagues.
10:30 Introduction Meg Birks
10:35 Recruit – creating opportunities for students and trainees Alex Bolt
10:40 Recruit – life as a trainee rep on a committee or council Abdul Hassan
10:50 Sustain – preparing for and surviving those first years on Speciaist Register Meg Birks
11:00 Retain – research and fellowships Emma Reay
11:10 Retain – Future Leaders Programme and Global Partnerships work Kohila Sigamoney
11:20 Retain – leading best practice and MDT collaboration at the national level Alistair Hunter
11:30 Discussion & Questions Panel
11:50 Round up and thanks Meg Birks
Meg Birks is a Consultant Hand & Wrist Surgeon in Sheffield, she is also the current Chair of the BSSH Education and Training Committee. Meg has a strong interest in medical education and career development. Her work in this field began with the BSSH Diploma committee and continued as an elected member of BSSH Council.
She is an educational supervisor, trained mentor, member of the Faculty of Surgical Trainers (RCSEd) and consultant appraiser. Meg enjoys supporting colleagues to find what fires their enthusiasm and ways to strike the right balance in their scope of practice. She is a strong advocate of visible role models for diversity in orthopaedic surgery believing this is the best way to ensure recruitment of excellent future colleagues.
Alex graduated from Keele University with Honours in 2010, obtaining the Nigel Eastwood prize for best performance in the final year exams. His postgraduate Trauma & Orthopaedic training was completed in 2019 on the Oswestry Stoke-on-Trent rotation of the West Midlands deanery, followed by a TIG fellowship in Oxford and further fellowship at the Birmingham Hand Centre. He obtained his FRCS (Tr&Orth) in 2019, the European Hand Surgery Diploma in 2020 and the British Hand Surgery Diploma in 2021 where he was awarded the Vivien Lees Gold medal. His consultant career began at the Birmingham Hand Centre in 2022 but later that year he was appointed at the Pulvertaft Hand Centre in Derby. In 2024 he was made an honorary consultant at the Pulvertaft and moved his consultant practice to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Alex has a specialist interest in hand and wrist trauma and an elective interest in complex wrist surgery and arthroplasty. He is a reviewer for the European Journal of Hand Surgery and is passionate about education and training. He is a British hand diploma tutor and a member of faculty on hand and wrist fracture fixation and arthritis courses teaching at national and international courses.
Abdul is a ST7 Trauma & Orthopaedic Registrar within the Severn Deanery and has completed the MSc in Orthopaedic Research Methods at the University of Bristol. He is the BOTA representative for the BSSH Education and Training Committee as well as the Instructional Course Committee.
He was previously the Severn BOA Diversity Equality and Inclusion Junior Champion and has completed two months working in The BSSH LION Hand Project in Malawi at the beginning of this year during an Out of Programme Experience (OOPE).
Alistair Hunter is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, specialising in hand, wrist and elbow surgery. He trained in Trauma and Orthopaedics in Manchester and London. He is based at University College London Hospitals.
He completed Fellowships in hand, wrist and upper limb surgery at the Upper Limb Unit Wrightington Hospital, the Hand Unit Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and a traveling Fellowship to the Institut Kaplan, Barcelona. More recently, he travelled on the European Wrist Arthroscopy Society Tour to further enhance his skills in minimally invasive techniques in hand and wrist surgery.
Alistair was awarded the Postgraduate Diploma in Hand Surgery by the British Society for Surgery of the Hand in 2015. He was awarded 'Surgeon of the Year' at University College Hospital in 2016. He was given ‘Trainer of the Year’ for both the Middlesex/UCLH and Percival Pott Registrar Rotations in 2023. He publishes scientific papers, has contributed to several books and presents at conferences nationally and internationally. He is an invited reviewer for the Bone and Joint Journal.
He has a strong interest in teaching. He teaches medical students at UCL, is invited Faculty on national courses, holds a Master’s Degree in Medical Education and publishes in the field. He is active on the Education and Training Committee for the British Society for Surgery of the Hand, with an interest in improving patient engagement and understanding using better information about their conditions and operations.
Emma Reay is a Consultant Hand and Wrist Surgeon working at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. She trained in the North East of England and undertook fellowships in the UK and Australia and completed the UK Diploma in Hand Surgery. She is the Surgical Specialty Lead for Hand Surgery for the UK for the BSSH and the RCS. She is currently Co-Chief Investigator for two NIHR funded RCTs in Hand surgery and is a member of the BSSH Research Committee.
Alongside her role in promoting research in Hand Surgery she has recently led the Orthopaedic Department at South Tees as Clinical Director and during that time completed an MBA. She has a keen interest surgical training and has been Training programme Director for Orthopaedic Core Trainees in the Northern Region, is a member of the Trauma and Orthopaedic SAC and is an invited speaker and faculty member on a number of surgical training courses.
Ms Kohila Vani Sigamoney is a T&O (Hand & Wrist) Surgeon from North Manchester General Hospital (Manchester Foundation Trust). She is also the RCS College Tutor for North Manchester General Hospital and a BSSH Global Partnership Committee Member. Her specialist interests include trauma, arthritis and Dupuytren's Disease. In addiiton, she is also interested in teaching, research and overseas work. She is a Founder Committee member for Northwest Orthopaedic and Trauma Alliance for Africa and was involved in trainee led collaborations with Ethiopia and also in organising a tailored Research Methods Course for colleagues abroad