Twenty graduates are celebrating after becoming the first group of doctors in the UK to qualify through part-time study.
The University of Edinburgh group has completed an “innovative” five-year programme, known as HCP-Med for Healthcare Professionals, which aims to offer people already working in health the flexibility to become doctors.
It is open exclusively to existing healthcare professionals, clinical scientists and veterinary surgeons living and working in Scotland.
The course has been designed to address the increasing demand on the healthcare workforce in Scotland and has a strong emphasis on GP placements.
The first three years of the undergraduate course are conducted part-time and mainly online, so that students can study in their own time while balancing work and other commitments.
After completing their remote studies, students then join the university’s full-time undergraduate medical programme for the final two years and carry out a range of clinical placements in GP practice and hospital wards.
Dr Jen Kennedy, programme director HCP-MED, said: “We have lots of incredibly talented people working within the NHS in Scotland who may have missed the traditional route to become doctors.
“By creating this new pathway and widening access to medical degrees, we are able to nurture their talent and use their valuable experience to enhance the healthcare workforce.”
Calum MacDonald, who started his career as a staff nurse in an intensive care unit in Glasgow, is part of the first cohort of students who graduated from the programme on Saturday.
His experience working in intensive care and subsequent training to become an advanced critical care practitioner, a role he has held since 2016, led him to consider a career as a doctor.
He became a father in his second year of the course and the programme enabled him to stay in Glasgow and balance work with part time study and family life.
Now a newly qualified doctor, he has secured a foundation post in Glasgow and will rotate across seven specialties.
He said: “I’m very proud to fly the flag for the HCP-Med programme – it’s been a challenging but incredibly rewarding journey.
“Being able to continue working as a nurse while studying medicine was a huge financial incentive.
I am delighted to be graduating today and am excited to start my placement as a junior doctor in Glasgow.”
He is considering specialising in anaesthetics or general practice.
Alongside the part-time study, students receive full funding from the Scottish Funding Council which the university said makes it an attractive route to retrain for those already working within the healthcare industry.
Professor David Kluth, head of Edinburgh Medical School, said: “I am very proud that Edinburgh is the first university in the UK to offer this innovative part-time programme.
“We are committed to doing all we can to empower individuals to reach their full potential and to widen access to medicine for future generations.
“The students on this programme bring with them a rich diversity of backgrounds, experiences and skills – from prior careers to lived experience of the communities they will serve.
“This breadth of talent and perspective is vital in building a more inclusive, adaptable, and effective medical workforce for Scotland.”
