Katherine Ralston

Hello, my name is Kat and I’m a Geriatric and General Medicine Registrar based in NHS Lothian. I completed my undergraduate training and foundation training in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and then moved to New Zealand, working in medical specialties and having a wonderful time travelling around the South Pacific. I moved back to South East Scotland for core medical training and subsequently specialty training in Geriatric and General Medicine. I’m particularly interested in realistic medicine and community geriatrics including hospital at home. Outside of work, I love going on walks with Nell the dog and cooking feasts for friends and family. 

 My interests within medical education include civility, clinical event and peer debriefing and immersive simulation for higher specialty trainees. I’m excited to contribute to the development and delivery of high-quality and meaningful education with a focus on trainee wellbeing through this medical education fellowship.

David Maclennan

I am a lifer on the Edinburgh medical scene who has taken a deliberately meandering route through training. As an undergraduate, I first began to get a sense of what is was to be an educator through involvement in Peer-assisted learning and helping run a year 2 mock OSCE in my latter years. On graduating, I undertook the Foundation programme in the South-East where I joined the PULSE programme to deliver ad-hoc ward-based teaching. Following those two years, I undertook two very different clinical fellow posts; first with hospital at home in West Lothian followed by a year in the Royal Infirmary’s emergency department. Through those jobs, I gained experience of educating other healthcare professionals, gained ILS instructor accreditation, and was introduced to simulation as a teaching tool.

 Back into training, I completed IMT in the South-East where I had maintained my ward-based teaching of undergraduates and early post-graduates; as well as completing the CEP course. It was this ongoing involvement and enjoyment of education that led me to the Medical Education Fellow post, so that I could develop my skill set further and beyond the “front-line” educator. I enjoyed it so much, I have hung around for another year but will be applying for palliative medicine this November.

Away from medicine I try to maintain a degree of fitness by running, getting out to the hills but am more likely to be found in the cinema, attempting to learn guitar or with a “good” book. All of these hobbies are due to be disrupted in January anyway; as my wife Siobhan and I, are expecting our first child. We haven’t told our doting housecat yet….

Valerie Rae

Hello, I’m Val Rae, a paediatric registrar working in South East Scotland. I am interested in paediatric high dependency care and implementing strategies within our systems to support wellbeing. Prior to commencing paediatric training, I enjoyed a wonderful year working within the Emergency Department team at RHCYP.

 When I’m not at work, I enjoy getting outside for a run or a dunk in the sea as well as yoga and breath work. I can often be found with my head in a good book! 

Daniel Beck

I'm an Ophthalmology registrar in my 6th year of training. I've taken a year out of programme to pursue my interests in medical education at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. I grew up in the South East of England before attending medical school in Exeter and Plymouth. Since then I have worked in Wales, England and New Zealand before settling in Edinburgh for the duration of my specialty training. I'm interested in teaching, improving medical education and clinical care as well as the use of simulation to improve technical and communication skills. Outside of work, I like to spend time with my family, going on long walks with the dog and more recently, have taken up drawing and painting.

Lachlan Dick

I attended the University of Edinburgh and was awarded an MBChB in 2015. I completed Foundation Training in the West of Scotland following which I was accepted on to the East of Scotland Core Surgical Training programme. I joined the East of Scotland General Surgery training programme in 2021 and have just finished my ST4 year at Ninewells Hospital. I have experience of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and have previously been a member of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland Emergency General Surgery Teaching and Training committee.

 Away from medicine, I enjoy spending time with my young family and competing in professional level solo bagpipe competitions.

Ashley Simpson

Born and bred and trained in Edinburgh, Ashley is a senior registrar within the South East of Scotland, specialising in Renal Medicine. She is taking 2 years out of her training programme to undertake a Medical Education MD Fellowship within NHS Lothian. Her area of interest is Widening Participation, a subject matter which holds significant personal relevance for her.

When not at work or studying, Ashley enjoys a wide variety of outdoor pursuits, including rock climbing, hill walking, running, cycling, kayaking, skiing, cold water swimming & so on! On more relaxed days, she loves cooking, especially vegan cuisines of the Middle East and Asia. She has a soft spot for animals, and is known to rescue and re-wild all sorts of creatures, most recently a sparrow hawk!

Toby Merriman

Toby is an Acute Medicine Registrar in South East Scotland. His love of teaching began when he qualified as a Dinghy Sailing Instructor in 2008. His time as a sailing instructor has come to an end, but his interest in education has remained and is now focussed on medicine instead. He is currently completing a Masters in Medical Education, and cannot wait to use what he has learnt as a Medical Education Fellow.

 Toby studied in St Andrews for three years before completing his Undergraduate degree in Glasgow. He stayed on the West Coast for his Foundation Training, and then moved to Edinburgh for Core Medical Training in 2016. After CMT, he had an adventure working in the Gold Coast, Australia, for a year. The lure back to Scotland was too much though, and he returned to Edinburgh in 2019. He has since spent time as a Rheumatology registrar and a Clinical Fellow, before starting as an Acute Medicine Trainee in 2022. 

Other interests include running, watersports, and the cinema. He and his wife are getting a golden retriever puppy called Maverick in August, and I’m sure he will be delighted to talk to you about that.

Katie Hughes

Hello, my name is Katie. I’m a Trauma & Orthopaedic Registrar on the South East Scotland Training Programme. I’m taking time out of programme post ST4 to undertake a Medical Education Fellowship. I studied Medicine and completed the Academic Foundation Programme at St. George’s, University of London. I then did Core Surgical Training on the South Coast of England before moving to Scotland. I am excited to join the MED team to continue to develop my teaching skills and (hopefully!) bring a positive learning experience to students across NHS Lothian.

 Alongside my MED role, I am undertaking a MD at the University of Edinburgh researching hip displacement in cerebral palsy (CP). My project uses artificial intelligence to try and improve the efficiency of CP hip surveillance and better understand how surgery can help children with CP.

I am very fortunate to split my time between Edinburgh and The Tweed Valley where I get to enjoy some of the best biking in the world! I also love rock climbing, cooking and curating Spotify playlists.

Robyn Canham

Hello, my name is Robyn and I have recently completed Core Psychiatry training in South East Scotland. I decided to take a year out of psychiatry as a medical education fellow, to give me time to focus on my interest in medical education and to develop as a clinical educator.

In terms of experience, I have been a CTA at the university for the past year, as well as delivering psychiatry teaching for medical students and foundation doctors both formally and informally. I have also been the core psychiatry trainee representative for South East Scotland for the past year, and I hope that I can use the skills I gained in this role to help improve the experience and wellbeing of doctors in training throughout NHS Lothian.

I moved to Scotland from Manchester to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh and I have been here ever since! I love living in Edinburgh, and I also spend a lot of my free time in the East Neuk of Fife. If I’m not at work, I can usually be found on a beach with my husband and our dog. I look forward to meeting and working with you all over the coming months.

Kate Mitchell

Kate is the new medical education fellow with a special interest in environmental sustainability. She hopes to support staff across NHS Lothian to find out more about environmentally sustainable healthcare and work towards the goal of zero carbon emissions.

Kate is nearing the end of Emergency Medicine training and has previously spent several years working in medical education.

Time away from work is generally spent with family and friends – sharing a dog walk or (attempting) to grow some veg in the garden.