Meet the Team
Below are profiles of the Senior Management Team within MPS Educational Services. Another key resource is our worldwide medicolegal team, which the department draws upon for their expertise and experience.
John Tiernan
Director of Educational Services
John Tiernan qualified as a dentist from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1980 and worked in general practice before joining MPS. John worked in numerous roles before being appointed assistant dental director in 2004, and was appointed as Director of Educational Services in 2007. He has been a member of the Senior Management Group at MPS since 1999.
Within MPS, John is responsible for delivering an integrated strategy for the delivery of education to members worldwide.
Previously, John has been a member of the General Dental Council between 1991 and 2001, including membership of its Education Committee, Postgraduate Education Committee and the Specialist Training Advisory Committee.
In addition, he has co-authored Risk Management in General Dental Practice and has written and lectured extensively on the subject of communication and risk management, both in the UK and internationally.
John is also a member of the MPS Executive Committee.
Mark Dinwoodie
Senior Education Consultant
Dr Mark Dinwoodie is a senior educational consultant for the Medical Protection Society and also works as half time GP partner in Bath. He has been presenting a wide variety of MPS workshops for a number of years and is a lead facilitator for the MPS Clinical Communication Programme. He was recently a member of MPS Council for four years. He has facilitated a large number of GP clinical risk self assessments (CRSAs) for MPS over the last nine years and has particular interests in medication errors and the primary/secondary care interface. He is a GP trainer and has specialist interests in medical education and cardiology.
David Blaney
Senior Medical Educator
David Blaney qualified from the University of Edinburgh medical school in 1981.
He worked as a GP in Killin, Perthshire until 1999 when he was appointed Director of Postgraduate GP Education, South East Scotland and Associate Postgraduate Dean. He was appointed visiting Professor of teaching and learning at the University of Edinburgh and co-directed the MSc in medical education. From 2008-10 he was CEO of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME). In 2009 he was appointed Undergraduate Dean at Hull York Medical School and Professor of Medical Education.
He is a Fellow of the RCGP and the RCPE. He has a MmEd from the University of Dundee and an EdD from the University of Stirling.
He has published in a number of areas and presented extensively both in the UK and abroad. His areas of interest include: doctor-patient communication, appraisal and how doctors learn from clinical experience.
Paul Nisselle
Senior Consultant
Dr Nisselle was a GP in suburban Melbourne for 18 years, and, for a time, a member of the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, before entering the medical indemnity industry, in 1989, as MPS’ Australasian Secretary. In the period since then, he has worked in every aspect of the industry, first for MPS, then for MPS’s Cognitive Institute in Australia and finally for Avant, Australia’s largest medical defence organisations (MDO), as its general manager, clinical risk management. In 2009, he moved to London to take up a position again with MPS, as senior consultant, Educational Services.
He has always advocated a major role for medical defence organisations in clinical systems and communication risk management, believing it is as important for an MDO to help members avoid claims and complaints as it is help members manage them when they arise.
Mark O'Brien
Senior Education Development Consultant
Mark O’Brien is the founder and Medical Director of MPS’s Cognitive Institute. He is a regular national and international speaker on risk management, managing adverse outcomes, the relationship between litigation and interpersonal skills and leading clinical teams.
He is a dynamic and entertaining presenter with extensive experience as a trainer, delivering the training programmes throughout the world.
He is a published author who has a long history of involvement in healthcare education. He consults to Australian and international healthcare organisations on change management, improving culture and patient experience.
Matthew O'Brien
General Manager Asia Pacific Educational Services
Matthew O’Brien co-founded the Cognitive Institute and has been the managing director since its inception in 1998. He leads the Institute’s development and provision of educational services in five countries, delivering more than 500 workshops.
He has more than 17 years' experience as Managing Director, specialising in healthcare management, communication and marketing. He consults to healthcare organisations throughout the world, designing educational strategies and implementation programmes.
Before the Cognitive Institute, Matthew was the founder and Managing Director of one of Australia’s largest marketing firms, specialising in healthcare and consulting to national organisations.
Julie Wilson
Clinical Risk Programme Manager
Julie Wilson has extensive risk management experience, having worked as a clinical risk manager for medical protection organisations since 1996. She is responsible for developing, advising and providing clinical risk management information and services for healthcare organisations. This includes the development and implementation of a service for primary care organisations, through risk management and education.
Julie regularly undertakes workshops and lectures, and produces articles on clinical risk management. She has facilitated a large number of MPS clinical risk self assessments (CRSAs) for GPs and MPS risk assessments for out of hours providers.
Julie has 30 years’ experience in the health service - primary and secondary care, including the NHS and private sectors. She is also a registered nurse, with a degree in health studies, and numerous qualifications including education and practice nursing.