
BFIRST Trainees is for trainee doctors with an interest in global reconstructive surgery. We are a community of medical students and doctors who care deeply about global access to safe and affordable reconstructive surgery. We aim to act as a UK based forum to share resources and promote responsible trainee involvement in overseas activity.
We welcome any trainee, from medical student to registrar, to join BFIRST Trainees. We communicate through monthly newsletters and our social media channels.
BFIRST Trainee Committee
For trainees who would like to be more involved, please consider joining the BFIRST Trainee Committee. New appointments to the committee are recruited annually, with posts advertised at the end of the year. Applications will be discussed by the committee at an annual membership meeting and new members voted in.
BFIRST Trainee Community Values:
- Community: To develop our relationship with partner countries so that we work as a true community with the aim of improving global reconstructive surgery, focusing on education and training, research and prevention. To understand each other's needs and differences within this community, and to respond to these.
- Global Responsibility: To work towards a normalisation of global surgery within the UK, with exposure at all stages of training promoting a culture of global responsibility.
- Beyond Surgery: To acknowledge the impact of global inequality on health care provision and to include this within BFIRST's work through fundraising, resource allocation and research.
- Sustainability: To promote safe, responsible and professional involvement of trainees in activities relating to global reconstructive surgery, and to ensure that projects selected are appropriate, responsive to local needs, and focus on sustainable local training and capacity building. To be aware of our impact on our community and our planet.
The BFIRST Trainee Committee 2023 - 2024
BFIRST Trainees Committee
President of Trainees Committee: Zavira Heinze
Zavira is a doctor working in Plastic Surgery, an Executive Coach running her own business and a Leadership Trainer. Born and raised in Aruba, she was trained in the Netherlands and is now working in London. As a leader on the local, national, regional and international level of the largest international student organisation, the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association and access to medicines organisation Universities Allied for Essential Medicines she has extensive experience in global health leadership. Having been involved with BFIRST for the past five years in Education and Membership, Zavira is currently the Chair of the Trainees Committee.
Vice President of Trainee Committee: Emma Murray
Emma is a Plastic Surgery Registrar based in Manchester. She previously worked in Malawi, Ghana and Myanmar. She is excited to help build global partnerships between UK and International surgeons and trainees.
Secretary of Trainees Committee: Ye Ru Chin
Ye Ru is a Plastic Surgery Registrar based in the South West Deanery. She has served on the BFIRST Trainees Committee for the last 6 years. She is passionate about trainee involvement in global surgery projects
Internal Membership Engagement Coordinator: Siobhan O’Sullivan
Siobhan is our membership coordinator. She is currently working as a Plastic Registrar in London and has had a keen interest in Global Health since University where she worked on a number of projects. She has spent time working abroad on a volunteer basis in different countries and she is keen to continue this work as she progresses through her career.
Events Coordinator: Ailbhe Kiely
Ailbhe is an ST5 trainee in the North West deanery, currently working in Manchester. She developed an interest in fundraising and global surgery while at medical school in Dublin. This evolved into a role over the past two years on the fundraising sub-committee for BFIRST. This year she will be our events coordinator, running the BFIRST event and presence at BAPRAS,PLASTA Congress, GASOC, BFIRST and BSSH Overseas Day, amongst other events.
Fellowship Coordinator: Say How Teoh
Say is a Plastic Surgery Registrar based in Plymouth. He has served on the BFIRST Trainees Committee for the last four year running as the BFIRST Fellowship Coordinator.
Social Media Coordinator: Rushabh Shah
Rushabh is an ST3 plastic surgery registrar in the East of England deanery, currently working at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. He hopes to support the BFIRST Trainees committee by bringing a new lease of life to the BFIRST social media accounts and increase member engagement and awareness of our activities through multiple social media platforms.
Education Coordinator: Bhavika Khera
Global Partnership Coordinator: Emma Murray
Emma is a Plastic Surgery Registrar based in Manchester. She previously worked in Malawi, Ghana and Myanmar. She is excited to help build global partnerships between UK and International surgeons and trainees.
BFIRST Trainees/BSSH Global Partnerships Committee Liaison Co-ordinator: Rebecca Nicholas
Rebecca completed her Plastic Surgery specialty training in London, followed by the European Diploma in Hand Surgery and a period of Hand Fellowship at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, prior to moving to the United States to be with her family. She is involved with the research and teaching programmes within the Division of Hand Surgery at New York University Hospital, whilst remaining actively involved with both the BFIRST and BSSH Global Partnerships Committees. She served as the President of the BFIRST Trainees Committee in 2020/21 and has been involved with BFIRST since its conception in 2014, when she co-founded the trainee membership body, BFIRST Trainees. She went on to launch the BSSH Overseas Trainee Committee in 2020, of which she is past Chair. Having previously spent periods of time working in India, Uganda and South Africa, she is passionate about Global Reconstructive Surgery and is keen to promote opportunities for early exposure to working within low- and middle-income countries, forming lasting partnerships, and to see global surgery formally incorporated in the UK Plastic Surgical Training Curriculum.
President of the Medical Students Sub-committee: Deevyesh Sunder
Immediate Past President of Trainee Committee: Katie Dickson