British Orthopaedic Trainees Association update

Karen Chui, BOTA President

It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the new BOTA Committee of 2023-2024:

President – Karen Chui

Vice President – Kate Atkinson

Secretary – James Chowdhury

Treasurer – Adrian Andronic

Immediate Past President – Abhinav Singh

Education – Charmilie Chandrakumar

Publicity – Marios Ghobrial

Academic – James Archer

SAC – Kumar Dash

Webmaster – James Allen

Woman in Surgery – Sophie Donoghue

Global Surgery – Alice Campion

Culture & Diversity – Vasudev Zaver

Sustainability & Workforce – Oliver Townsend

Northern Ireland – Jagdeesh Nijjher

Wales – Clara Miller

Scotland – Dominic Waugh

Junior – Sally Rankin

BOMSA – Sophie Heppenstall

The new committee consists of a dynamic and passionate group of trainees from deaneries across the UK, including Northern Ireland, Scotland, Birmingham, London, Yorkshire, Wales, Mersey, East of England, Severn and Wessex. A truly British orthopaedic representation. I am excited to be working with this energetic new committee in the coming year to represent our members and deliver educational events.

This year, our committee promises to continue advocating, at the highest national level, for high-quality orthopaedic training and the protection of training opportunities for trainees. We will champion for increased diversity and inclusion in our specialty, and culture change for a better work-life balance that fits the modern surgeon. Recognising the impact of ongoing industrial action and risk of burnout in trainees, we will campaign for increased measures to look after the well-being of our members.

Furthermore, we will ensure that patient safety and trainees’ needs are prioritised as the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan rolls out, along with the development of the Extended Surgical Team.

Now more than ever, we need to ensure trainees’ voices are heard and represented. Thank you to our incredible BOTA Regional Representatives network, whom we rely on to help us gather timely and accurate feedback from our members from all regions, to present at national meetings.

The BOTA Committee look forward to delivering to you an exciting calendar of events in 2024 to our membership, including the ASIT pre-conference BOTA course, the BOTA Academic Day, the World Orthopaedic Concern Conference, Sustainability Conference, Culture & Diversity Day, sponsoring BOMSA events and the highlight of the year, the BOTA Academic Congress in Manchester.

In addition, we will be awarding bursaries and prizes throughout the year, including the BOTA Traveling Fellowships, the Junior Essay Prize, the BOTA/ASIT Education Grants, the BOTA/WOC Fellowships, Medical Student Elective Bursaries, and the Dragon’s Den Research Grants. Thank you to the BOA for their unwavering support of BOTA and trainees. We look forward to seeing you at our educational courses and events.