Education committee

 

One of the founding principles of the society is education. This committee's purpose is to support BOFAS in this.

BOFAS is of the view that education should be inclusive of trainees as well as established medical practitioners, our colleagues in podiatry, physiotherapy and in nursing.

We as health care professionals share a desire to bring about the best possible outcomes for the treatment of patients with foot and ankle problems.

BOFAS considers that a unified educational framework is one way by which we can achieve this goal.

 

Our strategy for the future is:

  • Increase the breadth of our educational offering, in terms of content and mode of delivery
  • To offer this to an ever wider audience: to patients and healthcare professionals of all types and grades, both home and abroad
  • To build on our recent collaborations with the USA and Europe and reach out overseas in educational partnership
  • To continue to prioritise education in the management of Diabetic and urgent foot problems
  • To further develop and focus on our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agenda
  • To develop new technologies in surgical education
  • To guide and set standards of education and training of surgeons after completion of formal training

 

​Membership of EdComm:

Elected Members:
  • Chair:  Anna Chapman
  • Member: Maneesh Bhatia
  • Member: Jim Carmichael
  • Member: Graham Chuter
  • Member: Yaser Ghani
  • Member: Rajesh Kakwani
  • Member: Nikki Kelsall
  • Member: Julie Anne Kohls
  • Member: Krishna Vemulapalli
  • Member: Matthew Welck
Co-opted / Working Group Members:
  • Overseas Committee: Tim Williams
  • Simulation Working Group: Togay Koç
  • MIS Working Group: Robbie Ray
  • Co-Opted Member: Vivek Dhukaram
  • Co-Opted Member: Verity Currall
 

Anna Chapman - Chair

Anna Chapman is a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at University Hospitals, Coventry and Warwickshire, with a specialist interest in Foot and Ankle surgery.She qualified from Guy’s, King’s and St. Thomas’s Hospitals School of Medicine in London and completed her Orthopaedic training on the Warwick rotation. She undertook Fellowship training in Bournemouth and Bristol, and was appointed as a Consultant in 2012. She completed a Masters Degree in Medical Education at the University of Warwick in 2010 and continues to pursue her interest in all things educational. Anna is currently the Lead Training Programme Director for the West Midlands and is a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee.  She has served two terms on the BOFAS Education Committee (2015-2023) and was the Lead for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for BOFAS from 2022 to January 2025. 

Elected January 2025

Maneesh Bhatia

Mr Maneesh Bhatia is a consultant Orthopaedic Foot  and Ankle Surgeon at University Hospitals Leicester since 2009. He is a member of the scientific committee of European Foot and Ankle Society. He is currently the link person between BOFAS  and EFAS and is helping to organise educational events for young foot and ankle surgeons. His book on musculoskeletal injections won the BMA best book award in 2021 and his most recent book “Essentials of foot and ankle surgery “ has been nominated for BMA best book award for 2022 and is being translated in Chinese.

Elected: March 2022, Re-elected January 2025

Jim Carmichael

Jim Carmichael is a fellowship trained consultant orthopaedic Surgeon at North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (NWAFT) specialising in the care of foot and ankle conditions. He graduated from Nottingham University Medical School in 1997 and completed the Basic Surgical Rotation in the Nottingham region. He relocated to Wessex in 2002 for his Higher surgical training completing a masters in orthopaedic engineering before undertaking fellowships in Sydney and London. He was appointed as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Peterborough in 2010 where his practice covers the breadth of adult foot and ankle surgery and he has led the creation of the NWAFT diabetic foot service.

Elected: March 2023

Graham Chuter

Graham Chuter is a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon working in Darlington since 2012. He graduated from Dundee University, trained in the Northern Deanery and was selected for a specialist fellowship in Melbourne. One of three F&A surgeons in County Durham & Darlington Trust, he takes the lead in ankle arthroplasty and has been local PI for multicentre trials. His practice is elective adult foot & ankle and general and specialist trauma. He has been heavily involved in education and training throughout his medical career and is faculty on many national and international courses.

Elected: November 2019  | Re-elected: March 2023

Yaser Ghani

Yaser Ghani is a Consultant Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon at Homerton University Hospital in London. He completed his undergraduate medical training at University College London (UCL) and pursued specialist orthopaedic training in London through the Stanmore rotation. He undertook prestigious Foot & Ankle fellowships in Windsor, St. Mary’s London, and Oxford.

He is actively involved in research and education and developed the BOFAS ‘Lectures of Distinction’ webinar series in collaboration with the BOFAS Education and IT Committees. Yaser also serves on the BOFAS EDI Working Group working towards bringing equality, diversity and inclusivity in Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery. He has a passion for education and training and serves as an invited faculty member on numerous national and international courses.

Elected: January 2025

Rajesh Kakwani

-

Elected: November 2016 | Re-elected: March 2023

Nikki Kelsall

Nikki has been a member of BOFAS since she was a junior trainee.  Following her fellowship in Bournemouth she became a Consultant there in 2015, subspecialising in Diabetic foot disease. She is the STC chair for Wessex, supervises foundation, core and specialist trainees.  Her favourite environment for teaching however has got to be one to one with her trainee in theatre.  She has chaired and taught on BOFAS principles and fellow courses, chaired the BOFAS sessions at the BOA when she previously sat on Ed Com, represented BOFAS at the West Africa Surgical Conference and presented one of the BOFAS lectures of distinction.  She received her MA in Medical Education in 2014.

Elected: January 2025

Julie Anne Kohls

Julie Kohls completed the Surrey Foot and Ankle Fellowship in 2008 and then progressed to become a Consultant at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford.  Julie’s practice is Elective Foot and Ankle Surgery. Julie set of the Trust’s Diabetic Foot and Ankle MDT. Julie also is the Foundation Program Director having looked after junior doctors since 2010. Julie has a Master’s Degree in Medical Education and has taught on multiple courses for BOFAS. 

Elected: January 2025

Krishna Vemulapalli

Krishna Vemulapalli graduated from India and completed his Higher Surgical Training from The Royal London Hospital and Percivall Potts Rotation before his appointment as a Consultant Orthopaedics Surgeon at Barking Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust( BHRUT). He specialises in Foot and Ankle surgery and Orthopaedic surgery for Children. He is also Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University, London. He is passionate about teaching and was instrumental in getting the Queens Hospital 'Training Hospital of the Year 2014' and 2nd runner-up in 2020 for Orthopaedics. He also has won several awards for outstanding patient Care and Teaching including ‘Trainer of Year 2015’ and ‘Highly Commended Clinical Supervisor of the year-PGMDE-UCL partners 2016’. He is a Clinical Lead of the department and chief architect for BONES (BHRUT Orthopaedics NHS Elective Surgery) Project which is a pioneer NHS High Volume week performing 135 Hip & Knee arthoplasties and 85 day cases in a week.

Elected: March 2021  |  Re-elected: March 2024

Matthew Welck

Matthew Welck graduated from Leeds University in 2003 and completed his orthopaedic training in London.  He undertook fellowships in Windsor, Stanmore and Baltimore, USA.  He joined the foot and ankle unit at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital as a consultant in 2016.  He has a keen interest in education and research.  He sits on the Royal National Orthopaedic NHS Trust education committee and is the Educational supervisor for the Foot and Ankle unit. He supervises trainees in an accredited postgraduate Foot and Ankle fellowship programme.  He is co-convenor of the Stanmore ‘Surgery of the Adult Foot and Ankle’ course.  He has set up a ‘Novel Techniques in Foot and Ankle’ cadaveric course and a regular regional complex cases meeting.  He is looking to work with all areas of the society to improve IT and communication.

Elected: March 2023

Tim Williams - Co-opted Overseas Committee

Tim Williams graduated from Guy's and St. Thomas' Medical School in 1999, completed his surgical training in London and East Anglia before undertaking his fellowship training at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.  He was appointed as Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeon at Colchester in 2011.  Here he has established a working and educational relationship with the British army garrison, supporting the Regional Rehabilitation Unit.  His education interests include training junior doctors as well as allied healthcare practitioners and he has taught on the Oxbridge theatre personnel course.  In 2015 he was invited faculty to the inaugural foot and ankle meeting in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Co-opted: March 2023

Togay Koç - Co-opted Simulation Working Group Lead

Togay Koç is a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon with a specialist interest in Foot & Ankle Surgery at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. He qualified from Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Schools of Medicine in London before completing his orthopaedic training in the Wessex Deanery. He has been on Fellowships to Southampton, Oxford, Guildford and Frimley as well as a visiting Fellowship to the Harborview Medical Centre, Seattle, USA. He benefited greatly from the support he received from BOFAS during his training, fellowship and beyond including the BOA Future Leaders Programme.

Co-opted: March 2024

Robbie Ray - Co-opted MIS Working Group Lead

Robbie Ray graduated from Glasgow University School of Medicine. His orthopaedic training was on the prestigious Edinburgh rotation, then Fellowship training in Sydney, Australia and in Toronto, Canada. He is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the PRUH, Farnborough, part of King’s College Hospital London NHS foundation trust. He specialises in conditions and trauma of the foot and ankle, with a special interest in minimally invasive and keyhole techniques. He teaches at all grades from medical students to fellow consultants. He has given multiple national and international presentations including teaching for the European Foot and Ankle Society (EFAS) and the Minimally Invasive Foot and Ankle Society (MIFAS). He is very interested in patient outcomes following surgery and research and has won multiple BOFAS outcomes awards and is highly published in the area of minimally invasive foot surgery.

Co-opted: March 2024

Vivek Dhukaram

Vivek Dhukaram has been a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire since 2010. He qualified from Madras Medical College, Chennai, India and completed Orthopaedic higher surgical training on the Glasgow & South Trent rotation. He undertook foot and ankle fellowships from Nottingham and RNOH Stanmore and was awarded BOFAS & EFAS travelling fellowships. He established the foot and ankle unit in Coventry. His practice includes all  aspects of foot & ankle surgery, with special interest in deformity correction. He regularly teaches on regional and national courses as well as being an examiner for FRCS Orth.

Elected: March 2022  |  Co-Opted: January 2025

Verity Currall

Verity trained in Bristol as far as fellowships, which were in Windsor and King’s College Hospital. She has been a consultant in Luton and Dunstable Hospital since 2016. She is the Trust T&O Education Lead and also the Undergraduate Lead for Surgery. She was elected to EdComm in 2022.

Elected: March 2022  |  Co-opted: January 2025