Hi, Guest!
We are SpR and IMT trainees that are enthusiastic about education and interview preparation.
We have all scored very highly in our National Interviews and have used the experience to put together online materials and a full medical interview course showing how to prepare for your IMT, ST3 and ST4 interviews.
Please do check out our faculty below. We use our experiences and previous Interview questions to keep our materials and the all-important mock interview course relevant and high yield. We’re always looking for new, enthusiastic faculty so please get in touch.
Meet the Clinical Leads
Dr Ashutosh Kapoor
Course Director, Consultant Physician
Dr Dur-e-shahwar Soomro
Course Director, IMT Trainee
Dr Ananya Singh
Course Co-Director, IMT Trainee
I am an incoming IMT1 at University College London Hospital. I studied at the University of Birmingham, while engaging in research through various internships. With my passion for medical education, I have developed and led teaching mentorship programmes for students. My goal is to help IMGs to better understand the hurdles and challenges we can face in the NHS
Dr Balrik Kailey
Course Co-Director, Cardiology SpR
I am a Cardiology ACF ST6 in North-West Thames and trained in Oxford and GKT. I’m very keen on MedEd and created CardioWebinar – a free online Cardiology education platform. I served on the BJCA Core Committee and have been heavily involved in SpR interview preparation courses over the past 5 years.
Dr Nikhil Ahluwalia
Course Co-Director, Cardiology SpR
I am a Cardiology SpR at Barts Heart Centre, North East North Central Thames. I enjoy Medical Education, working as Faculty on the PassPACES courses and a GMC PLAB examiner. I am the Academic Lead for the British Junior Cardiologists Association (please use BJCA.tv if you want to learn all things Cardiology) and host the sOOPR podcast for medical trainees thinking about research. I was co-founder of the Optimise Interview Course which has run from 2020.
Meet the Faculty
Dr Tom Mason
Respiratory Lead
I am an ST6 in Respiratory Medicine/GIM in the South London deanery. I’m currently doing a fellowship in COPD at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and also have an interest in pulmonary hypertension. I have been helping the Respiratory trainees with mock interview preparation for many years.
Dr Siddarth Raj
Surgical Lead
Since graduating from King’s College London GKT School of Medicine in 2021, Siddarth has actively pursued his interest in Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery. He is currently a Core Surgical Trainee (CT2) working in the West Midlands Deanery (Warwick and Coventry). Siddarth is actively involved in the clinical, academic and educational side of T&O locally, regionally and nationally.
Meet the Team
Harroop Bola
Head of Strategy
I am Fifth-year Medical Student at Imperial College London with a First-class Honours in iBSc Cardiovascular Sciences (Awarded the National Heart and Lung Institute Prize for my scholarship). I’m currently the Founding Chair of the British Indian Medical Association (BIMA), a leading not-for-profit organisation dedicated to fostering a nationwide student-doctor network across the UK, since 2020. Outside of BIMA, I am involved with MedEd initiatives, currently sitting as the Clinical Assessment Editor at Elsevier, and am the primary author on the 400 SBAs in Preclinical Medicine book with WorldScientific.
Manas Soni
Head of Marketing and PR
I am a fifth-year medical student at University College London with First-class Honours in iBSc Cardiovascular Sciences. I am thoroughly involved in medical education as the Treasurer of the British Indian Medical Association and a Clinical Assessment Contributor at Elsevier. I also work as part of the Children Acute Transport Service at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Tanvi Mungale
Website development
I am a fifth year medical student at the University of Nottingham. I completed my BMedSci (Hons.) in 2022, and I am part of the administrations team at Optimise. I have 2 years of leadership experience with the British Indian Medical Association, as well as an interest in MedEd. As part of the Nottingham cardiology society’s committee, I organise teaching sessions, and I also have an interest in national medical education management. I look forward to helping trainees who choose to work with Optimise!
Meet your predecessors!
Just a few of the successful candidates that we had the pleasure of working with over the years. Please get in touch if you have any specific questions or want to learn more.