Surgical Education Needs Hands-On, Not Just PowerPoints : The Founders’ Manifesto – GeNext MedEd Foundation

The Philosophy: Translating Knowing into Doing

What every surgeon inherits is not just technique, but ethic — the art of learning through touch, precision, and presence.

We, at GeNext MedEd Foundation, are certain that medical education must extend beyond the slides and the seminar halls to where the need is greatest — the operating theater, the bedside rounds, the clinical discussions.

As Dr. Bhushan Kathuria often says, “skill, when brought to life by mindfulness, goes beyond technique — it is ethics in action.”

This is more than a slogan, and the ethical basis on which GeNext was founded.

Vision of a Mentor – Dr. Bhushan Kathuria

The growth from just one ENT surgeon in a tier-2 city into managing multiple institutions is a lesson in meticulous expansion by Dr. Bhushan Kathuria.

He developed the WeCare Group of Hospitals and Santosh Advanced ENT Centres as something beyond facilities, as systems with meaning—locations where mentorship and patient care are given equal importance hand-in-hand.

GeNext MedEd was born out of that very faith:

that learning is not something that happens, but something that grows;

that true leadership in medicine lies not in titles, but in how many others you help rise.

“Institutions must outlive individuals,”

Dr. Kathuria remarks.

“Our duty as surgeons is not just to perform, but to prepare.” 

He merges humility with discipline — the surgeon's attention to detail tempered by the teacher's forbearance. At every workshop and every fellowship, he demands that the participant do, not just watch; must analyse, not just document.

The Co-Founder’s Perspective – Dr. Kshitij Shah

Whereas Dr. Kathuria shaped the vision, Dr. Kshitij Shah perfected the system.

An innovative educator-surgeon with a keen eye on process and pedagogy, he helped conceptualize GeNext's targeted workshops, CME strategies, and testing paradigms.

It should be a continuum, as far as he is concerned, with exposure breeding experience, experience leading towards excellence.

Dr. Shah brings the entrepreneurial balance between scalability and sanctity: programs that have academic integrity, operational feasibility, and fiscal viability — that keep education within reach, not just a dream.

"We're not building another workshop,"  he assures.

"We are establishing a dynamic mentorship system—a framework that can be passed down, expanded, and perfected by would-be surgeons."

The Ethos: Rooted in Intention, Not Position

The founders often express that GeNext MedEd is a return to the root principles — an innovative conceptualisation of the surgical education framework, guided by mentors and completed by the veracity of hands-on experience.

In a climate that is high on volume and low on interaction, GeNext epitomises intentional learning—learning that values competence over quickness and method over superficial appearance.

All fellowships, all CME, all observerships are deliberately small-group, mentor-based, and morally assured.

This is not nostalgia — it's neces­sity. It takes account that the very center of surgical education still beats strongest when a mentor stands next to a learner, rather than behind a podium.

The Road Ahead

GeNext MedEd Foundation is growing its reach — from tier-2 towns across the country, all the way to national education networks — under the same mantra:

"Teach well, serve deeply, build sustainably."

The dream is simple, yet ambitious:

to build a national leader in academic platforms that scale without sacrificing soul, that serves by sustaining itself, and that makes every participant a better clinician — and a better human.

Closing Line

Medicine can start with the book, but expertise starts in the clinic.

At GeNext MedEd Foundation, the hands that hold the scalpel must first learn to hold responsibility — because real education is not just taught; it is transmitted.