This is the list of clinicians who have shown exceptional ability in the role of Educational Supervisor, and embody the principles of the RCPCH. Click on their name to read the nomination text.
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Kerry Birch
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
Since joining the Neonatal Education Team this year, Kerry Birch has demonstrated exceptional dedication and passion for developing others. Her enthusiasm truly knows no bounds, and she has quickly become an indispensable pillar of educational support within the neonatal unit.
Despite the relentless clinical pressures faced daily, Kerry consistently places education at the forefront of her practice. She prioritises the learning needs of every learner on every shift, ensuring that both nursing and medical staff feel supported, valued, and empowered. Even when managing her own clinical caseload, Kerry remains acutely aware of education opportunities around her and she leaps at each one with energy and purpose.
Kerry has taken a proactive and creative approach to enhancing the learning environment, enabling learners to grow in confidence and competence within the clinical setting. Her daily promotion of Collaborative Learning in Practice (CLiP) has transformed the culture on the unit, encouraging shared responsibility, critical thinking, and teamwork among all staff.
Having recently completed her teaching, Learning& Assessment module, Kerry has blended new knowledge with her existing experience to provide outstanding supervision and mentorship. She is exceptionally well placed to support learners at every level, fostering a safe, positive, and inspiring space for development.
Kerry’s passion for developmental care in the neonate further strengthens her impact; she actively promotes learning opportunities that enhance evidence-based, family-centred care.
Kerry Birch exemplifies what it means to be an Educational Supervisor of the Year—committed, dynamic, compassionate, and consistently going above and beyond for the benefit of learners and the babies and families they care for.
I am nominating Kerry for Education Supervisor of the Year because she brings exceptional dedication, clarity, and compassion to every part of her role. Even when clinical pressures have pulled her in multiple directions, she has consistently gone above and beyond to support, guide, and empower those she supervises.
Kerry has shown remarkable strength in creating and maintaining firm professional boundaries, something that is not only vital for her own wellbeing, but a powerful example for the rest of us. She demonstrates how to balance commitment with self-care, and in doing so, she models the kind of healthy, sustainable practice we all strive for.
Her knowledge is outstanding, and she shares it generously. Whether answering a quick question or providing detailed supervision, Kerry always makes people feel heard, respected, and supported. No matter how busy she is, she approaches every interaction with patience, positivity, and a warm smile that instantly puts others at ease.
Kerry is more than an education supervisor, she is a role model, a steady presence, and a source of encouragement for everyone around her. Her commitment to learning, professional growth, and wellbeing makes her truly exceptional and deeply deserving of this recognition.
Kerry is, without doubt, an Education Supervisor of the Year.
Neil Bloxham
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
The man that can tell you everything about anything! He is incredibly supportive and teaches in a way no one else can. He is such an inspirational person.
Helen Brewer
Works at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
Helen has been an outstanding supervisor. She is always supportive and willing to give time and listen, but also very solution orientated and provided lots of guidance and advocacy. It has been fantastic learning from her clinical skills and acumen, but also learning so much in the way of management and leadership skills that she demonstrates within the clinical and non-clinical settings. She has been flexible with her time for me as a trainee and supported me to put in boundaries when needed. Thank you Helen!
Lorna Bridge
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
I am proud to nominate Lorna for Education Supervisor of the Year. Since moving from the neonatal team to Transitional Care, she has worked tirelessly to teach and support staff in developing strong neonatal skills. Her dedication ensures that babies who previously might have needed neonatal admission can now safely stay with their parents, improving family experience and continuity of care.
Lorna is an approachable, supportive, and knowledgeable educator. She creates a positive learning environment, builds staff confidence, and consistently promotes safe, evidence-based practice. Her leadership has strengthened links between neonatal and transitional care and has had a meaningful impact on both staff development and patient wellbeing.
Lorna’s commitment, professionalism, and passion for education make her truly deserving of this award.
Milburn Bryony
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
a best teacher. Always finding things to teach. Easily approachable and never keeps a pending tasks. Send notes an resource as promised. Never delays. Take headache and always find perfect time to teach .
Dermot Dalton
Works at North Devon District Hospital
Very supportive as an educational Supervisor. Helps to improve knowledge. Helps in work life balance
James Dearden
Works at Torbay & South Devon
James is a truly supportive supervisor, always willing to listen and offer advice where needed. He makes the effort to consider not only work-based goals but also what matters in trainees home lives. James often shares education opportunities within the department, and will highlight innovative resources.
He has been extremely supportive on both professional and personal levels. He helped me achieve my goal of applying for a paediatric training post by guiding me through the RCPCH competencies required. He also provided valuable support during times when I felt vulnerable, whether due to the challenges of adapting to a new environment or while facing health and personal circumstances. Whenever I need support, he is approachable and always willing to offer guidance and encouragement.
I trust his opinion, as he has been a true role model for me. Professionally, he is an excellent teacher with the ability to identify areas for improvement and provide clear guidance on how to achieve the required competencies. His feedback is valuable and beneficial .
Catherine Derry
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Dr D demonstrates excellence not just in education but in every aspect of being a supervisor. She ensures we have regular meetings that help me course-correct and reflect, so I never feel lost at sea. Her feedback is constructive, thoughtful, and always geared towards growth.
She takes personal support to a whole new level. Adjusting to a new system has been daunting, but Dr D made it so much easier. In my first month, she made sure I was buddied up on shifts and helped me build confidence before undertaking nights. She even assigned a senior registrar as my go-to person so I was never without guidance. Despite her busy schedule, she organised a meeting just for international graduates to check in and make sure we were doing okay and finding our feet. It made us feel seen, supported, and valued.
Her support began even before my first day. She took time for a phone call to ease my anxieties about starting in the NHS. Since then, she’s been endlessly approachable. Replying to my emails about cases, helping me explore my interests, and guiding me towards opportunities to build skills. She never curbs curiosity but instead she channels it.
Dr D embodies the RCPCH values in everything she does. She never makes international graduates feel different. She influences through her calm, steady presence that brings confidence and clarity to any situation. She innovates constantly, always finding ways to make systems better; the clerking format we now use was designed by her, and I wasn’t even surprised when I found out. And she inspires, honestly, I want to be like her one day.
Dr D is the kind of supervisor who makes you feel capable, valued, and inspired. She’s everything you’d hope for in an Educational Supervisor and more. She’s simply the best.
Janet Finnegan
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Janet demonstrates outstanding excellence in paediatric education, combining knowledge, enthusiasm, and approachability. Janet is linked with all students, organises their arrival and makes sure they have what they need to feel comfortable in the ED environment. Her structured teaching style is complemented by real-time bedside teaching, ensuring trainees gain both theoretical understanding and practical experience.
Janet is deeply committed to personal support for her trainees. She takes a holistic approach, addressing both professional development and personal well-being. Her mentorship includes career guidance, stress management, and fostering resilience, ensuring trainees feel supported in all aspects of their journey. Her empathetic, approachable nature creates a safe space for questions, reflection, and growth.
Jent is incredibly experienced, develops case-based discussions, simulation scenarios, and interactive workshops that actively engage trainees and improve knowledge retention.
Janet exemplifies the core values of the RCPCH. Her professionalism, compassion, collaboration, and integrity are evident in every interaction with patients, families, and trainees. She inspires those around her through her dedication, ethical standards, and commitment to excellence. Janets combination of exceptional teaching skills, personal mentorship, and innovative educational strategies make her a truly deserving candidate for Educational Supervisor of the Year.
Wendy Forbes
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Best Educational Supervisor. Always supportive and knowledgeable.
Natasha Goodman
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
Tash has grown exponentially over the last few years, from a staff nurse to a senior staff nurse and this year has taken on the pivotal role of Education Lead on NNU. Despite being new to the position in the midst of significant staffing challenges, Tash is determined to continue to provide educational support across the unit, both to the nursing team and the medical team. A particular strength of Tash’s is the working relationship she has developed with the medical team, acting as a bridge to facilitate shared learning across medical and nursing teams with big plans afoot!
Her determination and drive motivates those around her to push themselves out of their comfort zone. Tash is passionate about strengthening our units education provision, thinking “outside the box” to balance clinical support needs with educational priorities, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of infants and families is never compromised. She is passionate about supporting student learning and remains a strong advocate for CLiP (Collaborative Learning in Practice) for QIS learners and new starters on the unit.
Although often working clinically whilst managing to fulfil her Education role, Tash has an open door policy, and is always on hand to provide an ear to listen, provide guidance and support questions, queries (and a side of offloading!) which comes her way.
Tash is so deserving of this nomination as she combines excellent leadership skills to coach and guide, a passion for education and her clinical expertise to empower and develop the team.
Yasmin Hookway
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Yasmin has consistently demonstrated exceptional commitment to paediatric education, ensuring that our students receive high-quality, structured, and inspiring teaching. She excels at translating complex concepts into clear, practical learning points, making her sessions highly impactful. Students appreciate her interactive style, which encourages critical thinking, reflection, and active participation.
Her personal support is second to none. Yasmin invests time in understanding each students unique strengths, learning needs, and challenges. She provides tailored guidance, regular constructive feedback (even in tough situations), and encouragement, fostering confidence and professional growth. Students often describe her as a mentor who genuinely cares about their development, both professionally and personally.
Yasmin is a pioneer in educational innovation. She has always makes sure students are up to date with what they need to do, as well as checking in on all preceptees. She offers hand created tests, simulated practice and regular check ins. Her commitment to continuous improvement ensures that teaching remains relevant, effective, and engaging.
Yasmin embodies RCPCH values through her professionalism, empathy, and collaborative spirit. She models integrity, compassion, and dedication to lifelong learning, inspiring trainees to strive for excellence while maintaining patient-centred care. Her combination of pedagogical expertise, personal mentorship, and innovative approach makes her an outstanding nominee for Educational Supervisor of the Year.
Rachel Howells
Works at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
Rachel is what all educational supervisors should aspire to – wise yet humble; having high expectations of herself and those she supervises- yet very approachable; and able to tailor supervision to the individual while maintaining standards expected of all paediatricians in training. Her outstanding communication skills extends to patients, carers and colleagues and always partners with colleagues and families to make shared decisions about care.
She is comfortable enough in her clinical and non-clinical skills to be able to step back and let residents ‘try it themselves’ – Rachel will gently challenge decision making with interest and won’t rush in to take over even if she might have done something a different way. She uses every clinical encounter as a teaching opportunity, taking time to teach senior colleagues to medical students in a way which is engaging and non-judgemental.
She constantly reflects on her own practice, and encourages others around her do do the same through modelling this. She cares deeply about colleagues and goes out of the way to support those who are finding things challenging or difficult.
Thank you Rachel for being such an awesome supervisor!
Katy Huxstep
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
Katy is such an inspirational supervisor, you never fail to come out of a meeting with her feeling motivated. She has an eminently positive and proactive approach to learning and is keen to support trainees through a myriad training opportunities. There are no barriers, only a ‘just do it’ attitude, through which I am learning so much! She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the opportunities available: mention one aspect of medicine to her you wished you knew more about and within minutes she’s emailed you the journal articles, invited you to med student teaching and earmarked a patient for you to review with her on ward round. Then she’ll follow up on it to ensure there’s nothing else she can help with. I feel like there are so many more doors open to me than I realised before. Not only is she incredibly supportive of her trainees but she will frequently email out learning to the rest of the team, making sure to highlight that nursing staff and APNPs should be included too. What a legend!
Ellie Lawes
Works at Royal Cornwall Hospitals
Helpful and approachable. Very supportive. Makes herself available to her trainees. An excellent example!
Nigel Osborne
Works at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
I am delighted to nominate Nigel for Educational Supervisor of the Year.
He constantly demonstrated excellence in the education of Paediatric Trainees. From our very first supervision meeting, Nigel set a tone of clarity and mutual respect. He took time to understand my goals, strengths, and areas for development, ensuring that each learning opportunity was purposeful and relevant. His feedback was consistently constructive, specific, and actionable, which gave me confidence and clarity in progressing through the RCPCH curriculum.
Nigel also demonstrates exemplary personal support to trainees.He goes far beyond the routine expectations of a supervisor. When faced with issues outside his immediate expertise, he proactively sought resources and guidance from other colleagues to ensure I received the right support. This willingness to go the extra mile made me feel genuinely valued and supported throughout the placement. His approachable and empathetic manner created a safe environment to discuss challenges and seek advice.
Nigel’s teaching style is practical and adaptable. I particularly appreciated how he modelled excellent communication with patients and families — both verbally and in writing. Observing his consultations was an education in itself. His ability to break down complex clinical issues into understandable steps for families, and to offer clear, structured guidance to trainees, reflects his innovative and learner-centred approach to education.
In summary, Nigel not only provided exceptional supervision but also created an environment that encouraged growth, confidence, and excellence. His impact on my development as a paediatrician has been profound, and I am certain that many other trainees have benefitted in similar ways. For these reasons, I wholeheartedly nominate Nigel for Educational Supervisor of the Year.
Becky Smith
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Becky is an outstanding educational supervisor and an exceptional general paediatrician whose example inspires everyone around her. She seizes opportunities to teach throughout the day — during handover, ward rounds, clinics, or on the children’s assessment unit. Whether teaching medical students, SHOs or senior registrars, she is always patient, never patronising, and consistently kind.
As a supervisor, she is deeply invested in helping trainees make the most of every educational opportunity. For SPIN trainees, she ensures she is fully familiar with the curriculum and supports them to feel confident in what is required. She suggests practical strategies to achieve learning goals and takes the time for regular coffee “check-ins” to offer support and ensure progress stays on track.
Becky’s teaching extends far beyond trainees. She shares her expertise with nursing staff, primary care, and even social care professionals, helping them better support families living with type 1 diabetes. As lead clinician for the diabetes team, she has spearheaded the introduction of diabetes “away days,” where the team share knowledge, reflect on cases, and review best practice. She encourages trainees with an interest in diabetes to attend these sessions and ensures they are aware of opportunities beyond the Trust and region.
She is also always open to new learning and ways to improve her own practice. For example, she has collaborated with the Clinical Psychology department to learn more about neurodiversity and how it can affect diabetes management, exploring how care can be adapted to best support these families. Any learning she gains is quickly shared with the wider team, reflecting her innate understanding that a knowledgeable, well-supported workforce is essential to providing the best care for the young people they serve.
Samantha Snellgrove
Works at Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital
Sam is such an amazing addition to the Clinical educator team. She is willing to go above and beyond for her team. Whether that is coming off of a non-clinical day to help out when busy or staying late (which she does almost everyday). Sam loves to get the job done, and will do whatever it takes to ensure this is done at the highest standard possible. We have been without an educator on the Unit for a while before sam filled those shoes, and 100% she has.
Thankyou sam for your hard work, you are a credit to the NHS and a role model to me and the team.
Megan Tombling
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Dr. Megan Tombling is an exceptional pediatrician and clinical supervisor who combines outstanding skill with genuine compassion. She consistently goes above and beyond for her patients and team, often working extra hours to ensure every child receives the best care. Dr. Megan is highly skilled in cannulation, ICD tube insertion, long line insertion, UVC and UAC insertion, and intubation, and she eagerly supports and teaches colleagues during every procedure.
As a supervisor, Dr. Megan has guided me step by step—from my first day in the department to achieving confidence in my clinical practice. She is a kind, energetic, and beautiful person whose positivity inspires everyone around her. Her leadership fosters teamwork, learning, and excellence in patient care. Dr. Megan Tombling is a remarkable role model and truly deserving of recognition as Best Clinical Supervisor in Pediatrics.
Kirsty Trevethick
Works at Torbay & South Devon
To say I’m lucky to have Kirsty as my side kick is an understatement. I could not work without her alongside me. She is incredibly passionate about her role as Clinical Practice Educator & is wonderful with supporting both our team & the students that we have join us on placement. It’s an absolute pleasure to work alongside her.
Jade Waites
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Jade exemplifies excellence in the education of paediatric trainees/students through her structured, engaging, and patient-centred teaching. She ensures that every session is tailored to the students level of experience, combining clinical reasoning, evidence-based practice, and hands-on learning. Her approachable, witty nature encourages questions and open discussion, fostering a supportive learning environment where trainees feel confident and safe to explore complex cases.
Beyond her teaching skills, Jade is exceptional in providing personal support. She takes the time to understand each trainee’s individual goals, challenges, and well-being. Her guidance extends beyond clinical knowledge, including career advice, work-life balance, and strategies for resilience in paediatric nursing. Students consistently report feeling genuinely cared for and supported under her supervision.
Jade is also highly innovative in her educational approach. She always offers interactive simulation sessions, which have transformed the learning experience, making it both practical and engaging. She consistently seeks feedback to refine her methods and implement new teaching strategies, demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement.
Above all, Jade embodies the values of the RCPCH: professionalism, compassion, collaboration, and integrity. She leads by example, inspiring trainees not only to achieve clinical excellence but also to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards. Her dedication, creativity, and personal mentorship make her an outstanding candidate for Educational Supervisor of the Year.
Myooren Wimalendra
Works at University Hospitals Plymouth
Myooren has been my supervisor for over a year, he gets the right balance of being supportive and pushing me outside of my comfort zone, making decisions in clinic and following up with letters/results. He always has ideas on how to achieve competencies both in my SPIN module and general curriculum and has been a great sounding board as I approach CCT and am looking at the next career step
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Back to all categories
We use the nomination text and categories as provided by those who submit the nomination.
If there are any issues with the nomination pages (errors, people placed in the wrong category or any other concerns) please email s.janoff@nhs.net
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We will use the following criteria for creating the shortlist and choosing the final winner:
Educational Supervisor of the Year
1. Demonstrates excellence in the education of Paediatric Trainees
2. Demonstrates exemplary personal support to trainees
3. Demonstrates innovation in teaching and education
4. Embodies the values of the RCPCH
PAFTAs 