ABOUT US
“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” –Zig Ziglar
MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
I am delighted to introduce you to the Phoenix FRCS Course which I started in May 2017 as an expression of my creative experimentation. My dear friends, Mr Mohammad Nadeem, Mr Ahmad Mirza and I were attending the Alpine Course in January 2017 in Les Arcs, France when we conceptualised this great endeavour and wrote down the basic framework. It took me two attempts to pass this exam and five months of ground work to organise the first course (MRI Manchester). Mr Sanjay V Joshi has been instrumental in taking this course to a great length. Without him and his family's support, we would have struggled to run this course as a non-profit initiative.
We identified that a cohort of trainee surgeons had to go through training challenges, lack of support and financial burden while preparing for the Domestic and International FRCS Examination. They felt isolated, stressed and at times overwhelmed with professional and family commitments. While the surgical training in the UK is unparallel; there is less individual support for customised preparation in the current resource stretched NHS.
With these background challenges, we committed to starting a course to address these issues. The Phoenix FRCS Course is rather a process which comprises of three phases: Pre Course Priming, Intensive Two Day Course and Post Course Consolidation Phase. The focus is on learning and consolidating what works in the real exam and unlearning what does not! Furthermore, the Phoenix FRCS Course is based on the most up to date theories of learning and the psychology of performance. We have a common goal of guiding you to get through the examination with the knowledge and training you already have. We actively identify your knowledge gaps, recurring self-defeating patterns and biases in thinking and performing. We then outline them and seek remedial actions together and encourage you to master those steps with our help in all three phases. For some, this experience could be quite humbling, and for others, it could be transforming.
From the outset, I would like to admit that most of us are not approved trainers or educators and have no affiliations with any reputed institutions. However, our uniqueness of purpose, continuity of commitment and success rate in the Fellowship exams are self-evident. The onus is on you to change your career trajectory by making the most of what we have to offer.
We provide one to one viva sessions, peer to peer learning, virtual clinical scenarios, and Skype sessions in all three phases with minimal or no lectures and powerpoint presentations.
Good luck,
Rishabha D Sharma
MBBS, MS, DNB, FRCS Edin, ECFMG (USA), Dip Lap Surg (France), FRCS (Gen Surg)
Fellow, Oncoplastic Breast Surgery, Royal United Hospitals, Bath, BA1 3NG
Founder, Course Convenor & Web Host
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL COURSE COORDINATOR
I found the FRCS exam challenging and requiring well-directed efforts. It was difficult to get guidance tailored to one's needs and covering areas of weaknesses. The Phoenix Course concentrates on these areas. We aim to excel on the one to one guidance and give personalised advice which results in a high success rate. The course is conducted for a small group of up to 15 candidates and has a high candidate to faculty ratio. Our team comprises a diverse group of surgeons who have faced similar challenges in the exam and benefitted from this course recently. They are all keen and dedicated surgeons helping others through this course. The candidates are offered pre and post-course conference (Skype) sessions. The course is run totally on non-profit basis keeping the fees to a minimum.
Interestingly the course was run for the first time by candidates who prepared by being faculty to each other. This successful pattern then continued as the second course where I was fortunate to be a candidate. I have been associated with the course ever since as I found it innovative and effective. It is particularly useful to candidates who have had experience of appearing for the examination and those who are not in training posts. The trainees and first-time candidates too benefit enormously as the course gives them an excellent practice of examination skills.
Its a brainchild of Rish Sharma whose innovative vision is helping trainee surgeons through this course. It was run initially at MRI Manchester and then at Southmead Hospital Bristol and Tunbridge Wells Hospital Kent. The venue for the next Phoenix Course is Maidstone Hospital, Kent in January 2020.
Sanjay V Joshi
MBBS, MS, MSc, FRCSEd, FRCS (UGI)
General and UGI Surgeon
Tunbridge Wells Hospital Kent UK
