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Sixth formers from across Lincolnshire will be getting a taste of what it’s like to go to medical school in a special one-day event to boost the number of people from rural areas applying for medicine and healthcare careers.
Lincolnshire is a county with a serious shortage of doctors and has one of the lowest application rates for medicine in the UK. The medical schools from the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester are hosting the ‘Journey to Medicine’ event at the North Kesteven Academy in Lincoln on Wednesday 18 October 2017.
The event will guide sixth formers through the process of applying for medicine. Current medical students will be talking through a day in the life of a medical student, running interactive workshops on clinical skills and medical ethics with university experts on hand to answer questions directly. The organisers are aiming to spread the message that a career in medicine is open to everyone.
Ayodele Oluboyede, a 5th year Nottingham medical student who will be leading a workshop, said: “Medicine is not exclusive! I feel that kids these days are scared to go into medicine because of what they’ve heard – not what they know. It’s vital that we try to to dispel the myths and this event is important to help make medicine accessible for everyone.”
More than 100 visiting sixth form students will also hear a personal account from a former Nottingham medical student who now works as a doctor at Lincoln County Hospital.
Dean of the Nottingham Medical School, Professor Tony Avery, said: “We are highly committed to widening participation to medical careers and have considerably expanded the opportunities for students from non-traditional backgrounds to study at our Medical School.”
Professor Richard Holland, Head of Leicester Medical School, said: “Medicine is a great career. I would encourage all A-level science students, particularly those taking Biology and Chemistry, to consider a career as a doctor if they genuinely enjoy caring for people, would enjoy a career that is constantly developing, varied, and intellectually challenging.
“We should be recruiting from all schools in the country and that is why we are delighted to be visiting Lincoln and meeting Lincolnshire students. Too few young people from Lincoln seem to consider applying for medicine, and we hope we can begin to change that now.”
Neil Wilkinson-McKie, Head Teacher at North Kesteven Academy said: “It has been our privilege to be working closely with our two Medical School partners and the Medical Schools Council to create and stage this fantastic event.
“For our students, their teachers and our parents it is an amazing opportunity to put together, host, provide face to face advice, guidance and support for students to enter the world of medicine. Not only does it encourage our outstanding students to aim high it also ensures that we have first-hand access and support from these universities who have been superb in their support of our students – I cannot thank them enough!“
The conference is a follow on from a range of teacher and advisor conferences funded by the Medical Schools council that took place in medical schools across the UK over the past year.
Dr Paul Garrud, Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, and Chair of the Selection Alliance in the Medical Schools Council, said: "Our country and our region need more doctors to serve our communities. We wish to encourage young people who might not have considered medicine before. Our local medical schools now have access courses for students from disadvantaged backgrounds."
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