News

Medical students move on with an excellent prognosis

(16 June 2006)

As Durham University Medicine students come to the end of the first phase of their medical education, Queen’s Campus, Stockton is sending them on their way with a special ceremony to mark their move to Newcastle.

The Medicine programme at Durham University, Queen’s Campus, Stockton admits 102 students per year. Following Phase 1 the students join Phase 2 with the University of Newcastle. The medical education is delivered through this partnership together with NHS Hospitals, general practices and public health units. Training is designed to help students respect and relate well to patients and colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds, maintaining the person centred approach to medicine in their future careers. The ceremony is led by the Vice-Chancellor, Sir Kenneth Calman, the former Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, together with senior academic staff from Durham and Newcastle universities. The guest speaker is Professor Roger Jones, Dean of External Affairs at King’s College, London. One of the students, Joanna Ashton (25), from Middlesbrough, is expecting her very own medical scenario very soon. Joanne, who was 8 months pregnant when sitting her exams, is looking forward to becoming a mum and continuing over the next few years to become a Doctor. She said: “I really enjoyed studying medicine at Queen’s Campus because it was a mixture from the start of academic challenge and learning practical skills that would let me help people. Being pregnant has taught me a lot about being on the other side of healthcare and hopefully I can apply this in my career.” Joanne, who has a degree in Equine Science from Bristol University, always wanted to be a Doctor when she was younger but didn’t think she could do it. She added: “I did some voluntary work in different healthcare fields when I discovered that I missed working with people, and so applied to the Medicine course and to my surprise was accepted.” Another student on the course Stephanie Main, who is 19 and lives in Hamsterley Mill, Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear has begun a trend for medics within her family. Before Stephanie began the medicine course she was studying for her A-levels in Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Music where she achieved grades AAAB respectively. As well as being a budding young doctor, Stephanie has a love for music. She said: “I am an accomplished pianist and teach the piano as a way of helping to support my studies. I also find music an important outlet for me in terms of relaxation, as medicine is a demanding course. “My desire to study medicine stems from a combination of my love of science, in particular human biology, with the satisfaction I get from the care side of working with people. I also wanted a career which was challenging and one that enabled me to continually develop professionally and as a person. I feel Durham created a great learning environment in which to study medicine, so much so that my brother has recently accepted their offer to study medicine at Durham too.” Stephanie has spent time working in surgery and A&E departments while at school, and at the time of applying to University those were her particular areas of interest. However, with such a diverse subject as medicine Stephanie is constantly finding new areas of interest. She commented: “At the moment I am particularly keen on working in the area of gastroenterology. I am excited at the prospect of developing my clinical skills in Phase II of the course at Newcastle and the challenge a new environment brings. However, I will be sad to leave Durham behind, but I think this course will equip me with the knowledge, skills and attitude I feel I need to enable me to become a good doctor and provide the excellent medical care people within our region deserve.” The ceremony takes place on Monday 19th June at 5.00pm, where this year’s completing students will be welcomed by the Vice-Chancellor, Sir Kenneth Calman accompanied by the Dean of Medicine, Professor Pali Hungin. Professor Roger Jones, Dean of External Affairs, Kings College London School of Medicine is the guest speaker. He was previously Professor of Primary Care at Newcastle University, is founding President of the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology in the UK and the founding Chairman of the European Society for Primary Care Gastroenterology.