Taha

Medical school lecturer, interviewer, and examiner, and GP SpR

Dr Taha
MBBS(Distinction) PGCE(Merit) FHEA MAcadMEd

My qualifications
- GCSE: Biology A*, Chemistry A*, Physics A*, Maths A* (and numerous other A*s)
- A-Levels: Biology A*, Chemistry A*, Physics A*, Further Mathematics A*
- Brighton and Sussex Medical School: Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery MBBS (Distinction)
- University of Edinburgh: Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Education (Merit)
- University of Exeter: Postgraduate Diploma in Health Research Methods
- Hull York Medical School: PhD in Medical Education (in progress)

I also earned numerous coveted academic prizes along the way; please message me for details as there are too many to list here.

Why do I tutor?
- I tutor because our education system lets us down and I try to make up for it in the small way I can. The main goal of our medical schools is to maximise the number of medical students to maximise their profits, without investment in improving the delivery and quality of education. Instead, my goal is to deliver the highest-quality bespoke tuition I can to address the shortcomings of your medical school.
- I tutor because I have a robust understanding of the challenges faced by medical students, such as lecturers presenting information they are unfamiliar with because it’s outside their niche area of research, lectures over-reliance on PowerPoint presentations they didn’t check beforehand for lack of coherence, non-medical lecturers presenting outdated information, and lecturers’ inability to tailor their teaching to match students’ existing knowledge base. Hence, I know what obstacles we need to address together.

My life
- I grew up in London and was fascinated by science and mathematics since my early school days.
- I studied triple science at GCSE, which helped me develop strong foundations and further interest in these subjects, and I was awarded A*s.
- My early success led to me studying Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Further Mathematics at A-Level, where I was again awarded all A*s.
- Following further academic accolades, I studied Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
- At medical school, I started working as a private tutor teaching science, maths and medicine from primary school to undergraduate level.
- I started working for Kaplan (the world leader for standardised test prep) where I received lots of excellent training in the practical methods of teaching UCAT and BMAT and helping students prepare for university interviews.
- After graduating with Distinction (top 10% of my cohort), I moved to Scotland to complete the competitive Academic Foundation Programme.
- Whilst in Scotland, I attended the University of Edinburgh where I received high-quality postgraduate training in Medical Education and completed my PGCE.
- Following this, I was awarded an Honorary Clinical Lectureship at the University of Aberdeen, where I interviewed, taught and assessed their medical students.
- Here I was privileged to be recognised for my contribution to medical education and now I am the proud holder of a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and Membership of the Association of Medical Educators (MAcadMEd).
- Next, I secured the immensely competitive NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship at the University of Exeter. Here I conduct my research and teach medical students. My research has been published in leading journals and I have presented it at international conferences to wide audiences.
- I also continue to practice clinical medicine working as a front-line physician in Exeter.

My interests
- I enjoy playing sports like badminton and basketball.
- Riding my motorcycle.
- Working for Kaplan, I relished the opportunity to travel all over the British Isles.

Tutoring Experience

Private Tutor:
- Since 2013, I have taught biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and medicine to students from primary school to undergraduate level.
-However, most recently, due to high demand, I now only teach prospective or current medical students and regrettably stopped tutoring GCSEs and A-levels.
- I have detailed my tutoring approach below.

TEFL:
- Internationally recognised teaching experience,
- I was taught and assessed on teaching groups of students of different abilities and learning styles simultaneously and how to incorporate technology into education.

Kaplan:
- Completed a structured corporate training programme on teaching effectively.
- Lead workshops teaching students interview skills to study Medicine at university.
- Designed and reviewed numerous resources for medical accuracy to help prepare prospective medical students with their university interviews and admissions tests.

Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen:
- Responsible for teaching medical students in various formats including traditional lectures, small group teaching, clinical workshops and simulation.
- Written summative medical school exam questions including multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions.
- Performed standard-setting and post-hoc analysis and review of assessment methodology.
- A member of the university admissions’ interview panel interviewing and grading the applicants.

Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education:
- I learned about the theory of teaching (pedagogy) and completed modules evaluating the current evidence base in assessments, curriculum, and the principles of teaching and learning.

Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the University of Exeter:
- Teach medical students, including writing their curriculum and learning materials
- Examine OSCEs and other written assessments

Tutoring Approach

• Firstly, I am often contacted after medical students have failed. That can be failing individual assessments or failing the whole year. This is not a criticism as it’s not too late to seek help. I just want potential students to know that if you have failed, many others have been in a similar situation to you and have still graduated, just with a little extra help along the way. Hence, I like to start by getting to know my students, including what challenges they faced and where and why they struggled the most. Often there are many contributing factors such as poor physical or mental health or challenging social circumstances. Because Medicine requires so much commitment, even small setbacks can have a profound impact on our progression. To effectively work around these issues, if students are willing to share, I try to get a good holistic understanding of their personal situation.

• Secondly, I ask about their existing learning strategy. For example, what methods have they tried already? Which strategies have they found most and least effective? For many, it’s difficult to completely change their revision strategy, something they may have relied on for many years, purely based on their tutor’s recommendation. Instead, in my experience, it’s much more effective to modify and improve existing learning strategies. This may require a little flexibility and creativity but it’s crucial to develop a sustainable revision strategy. I am prepared to do whatever you find most helpful. For example, I can straightforwardly explain challenging confusing concepts, translate the word salad on your lecture slides, help you write effective revision notes or flashcards, and explain the reason why you got certain questions wrong. We can figure out what you find most helpful and focus our efforts there.

• Thirdly, I established the known and unknown knowledge gaps ie what you know you don’t know and what you don’t know that you don’t know. Students are much more vulnerable to unknown knowledge gaps but an experienced and alert tutor can usually quickly identify these with a little probing. Once we know the knowledge gaps, we know where to focus. The main purpose of tuition should be to focus on topics students are worst at (as this will be where we reap the most reward) and topics which students can’t address themselves (tuition is expensive and this is how you get the most out of your money).

• Fourthly, I am always open to feedback. If your circumstances or priorities change or you find another revision technique more effective, for example discussing practice questions, instead of going through lecture slides, I am always open to feedback and happy to re-evaluate and do whatever you find most helpful! The entire purpose of tuition is that it’s completely bespoke and we should maximise this advantage and tailor it specifically to your needs.

This additional point is not a teaching approach but is still part of the service I offer. Usually, the lessons are paid for by the student’s parents. Hence, I establish what type of communication works best for them. Some parents prefer detailed written updates after every lesson. Other parents prefer a periodic phone call, for example, every month. And, some prefer minimal communication apart from invoices. I am completely flexible and will accommodate whatever communication format, intensity and frequency you prefer.

Finally, if you hire me as your tutor, you can rest assured that you are paying for the best in the business and I will consistently deliver my best in every lesson. If at any point you think I could be doing more in our lessons then just let me know and I will be happy to explore how I can support you better. It's essential, however, that your commitment matches mine, requiring diligence, preparation and sacrifice on your part as there are no shortcuts and you need to put the work in. If you are committed to success, don't give up as I'll definitely help you get there!

NB:
1) All lessons are online via video call
2) I request payment before the lesson.
3) I regret that due to the unprecedented demand for university medicine tuition, I had to make the difficult decision of no longer tutoring GCSE or A-level. Apologies for the inconvenience. Sometimes I make exceptions but only if parents have struggled to find a suitable tutor elsewhere.