BEST Trainer Awards

Welsh doctors and dentists have been honoured by the Wales Deanery at an event hosted by the British Medical Association (BMA) at the National Museum in Cardiff.

The successful nominees were rewarded with accolades for their excellence in training the next generation of medical and dental professionals across Wales.

The annual BEST/BSAS awards are part of the BMA/BMJ Clinical Teacher of the Year Awards, which is a collaboration between Cardiff University Medical School, Swansea Medical School and the Wales Deanery.

All Welsh doctors and dentists in training were asked to nominate a consultant, GP, dentist or staff and associate specialty grade doctor, who they believed performed outstandingly.

The following healthcare professionals were named BEST trainers of the year 2016: Dr Samantha Wilson, GP Partner and Trainer at Ely Bridge Surgery, Cardiff; Dr Mark Taubert, Consultant in Palliative Care at Velindre Cancer Centre, Cardiff; Dr Madhan Mohan Natarajan, Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry at the School of Dentistry in Cardiff University; and Mr Suresh Pandalai, Associate Specialist in Urology at Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

'High standards of medical and dental education in Wales'

Professor Peter Donnelly, Interim Postgraduate Dean at the Wales Deanery, said: “The Wales Deanery is extremely proud to have developed the BEST/BSAS awards in recognition of the high standards of medical and dental education in Wales. Once again, the standards have been exceptional, and reflect the time and commitment from those doctors and dentists at the forefront of training and education. The BEST/BSAS awards are a fitting celebration for all those nominated by their trainees for the time, care and effort they put into the role on a daily basis.”

The awards form part of the Wales Deanery’s extensive programme of work to recognise and reward trainers, and its view that the quality of medical and dental practice and safety of patients are crucially dependent on the quality of training provided.  They also contribute to the Deanery’s implementation of regulatory (GMC) requirements for the formal recognition of trainers in secondary care through the development and support of high quality trainers including Educational and Clinical Supervisors.

The four winners of the award also received a Medical Education Bursary worth £3,000. The strategic aim of the Wales Deanery is to commission, quality manage and support the education and training of trainees, hospital doctors, GPs, dentists and DCPs in Wales.