A World Full of Opportunities for Student Doctors

International medical electives help University of Sunderland graduates bring new perspectives to the UK health care system.

This summer, 95 new doctors graduated from the University of Sunderland's Medicine degree, and every single one entered immediate employment.

Fourteen student doctors from the University of Sunderland who expanded their experience on the world stage are now taking their skills into the NHS to benefit patients across the north-east and beyond.

Earlier this year, the MBChB Medicine degree students were supported by The Rothley Trust Medical Elective Awards to experience medicine in Australia, Greece, Japan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Sri Lanka, and the USA. The students also raised funds themselves to supplement their awards.

Of the 95 graduates entering immediate employment, 66% are staying in the region.

Experiencing healthcare around the world

For Minahil Abbas, her time in Pakistan and Malaysia had a huge impact on her as a person and as an aspiring young doctor.

Minahil, 23, from Newcastle, said: “The Rothley Trust gave me the opportunity to experience different cultures, healthcare systems, languages, and ways of life. It was an experience that broadened my perspective as both a medical student and as a person, and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity.”

Minahil starts work as a Foundation Doctor with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust this summer.

Joining Minahil at Northumbria Healthcare will be Laura Mason, 23, from Choppington in Northumberland, who travelled to Australia and Greece. Laura experienced different specialties and explored how culture can affect health and healthcare provision.

Holly Margetts, 23, from Guisborough in North Yorkshire, visited Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.

“The Rothley Trust allowed me to experience healthcare in a very different setting to the NHS, and meet some wonderful people,” said Holly.

Returning home to practise medicine

Emily Burke, 27, from Whitley Bay, originally studied for a career in public health before realising that practising medicine is where her passion lay.

Emily spent a month in the emergency department of a private hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, followed by a month at a private sports medicine clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She is now preparing to practise medicine much closer to home.

She said: “I will be working in general practice, emergency medicine and paediatrics, but I'll start in acute internal medicine at North Tyneside General Hospital – the hospital where I was born.

“Returning there as a working medical doctor feels like a full circle moment.”

Reconnecting with family history

The Rothley scholarship was also an opportunity for one student doctor to reconnect with his family history. Philip Glancey, 23, from Northumberland, travelled to the University Clinical Center of the Medical University of Warsaw.

Philip said: “Being a Rothley scholar allowed me to turn my elective into a culturally enriching trip, giving me the freedom to visit museums, spend time with extended family, and explore my Polish heritage.

“I was born in Newcastle, but my mum is from Lublin in Poland. Without this funding, I simply would not have been able to experience as much as I did or make such lasting memories.”

Philip joins Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as a foundation doctor.

Supporting future doctors

The Rothley Trust is a charity that supports initiatives in the north-east focused on community, children and young people, energy saving, education, disability, ex-service people and medical education.

Professor Scott Wilkes, Head of the University's School of Medicine, said: “I'm immensely grateful to The Rothley Trust for giving the opportunity to our wonderful medical students at the start of their careers. Their experience will stay with them forever and will shape their future careers.”