Medics graduate early to help NHS Fife with Covid-19 response

More than 30 graduates from medical schools across the country have joined Fife’s medical workforce this week, after graduating early to support the response to coronavirus.

The latest cohort of medical staff had finished their final year exams and had their registrations accelerated to allow them to take up roles in the Kingdom’s hospitals around ten weeks early.

The date was brought forward following guidance from the General Medical Council which allowed the latest medical graduates to assist earlier with frontline healthcare services.

All have volunteered to accelerate their registration in order to support the health board’s response to Covid-19 and started work on Wednesday.

Each new graduate has undergone six years of intense medical training and will be mentored by an experienced clinician in the early months of their new role.

Professor Morwenna Wood, NHS Fife’s director of medical education, said: “The new medical graduates beginning their careers in Fife will be applying the skills and knowledge they have garnered over a number of years of training, and are very well equipped to support the local efforts to tackle Covid-19.

“While they will undoubtedly be tested in the coming months, they are highly-skilled medical professionals and will be able to draw upon the experience gained over numerous clinical placements during their extensive training.

“Importantly, they will also be able to rely upon the support and mentoring of experienced clinical colleagues over the initial weeks and months.”

The new graduates will initially supplement clinical teams based at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.

This in turn will enable medical staff based within the acute hospitals to instead offer greater support to colleagues providing frontline healthcare within Fife’s communities.

Later this week, the newly qualified medics will be welcomed to NHS Fife during a video conference with the Board’s Chief Executive, Carol Potter, and Medical Director, Dr Christopher McKenna.

Dr McKenna said: “We are delighted to welcome our newest medical graduates to NHS Fife.

“The clinical teams working in our hospitals and communities have put in an incredible effort over recent weeks to adequately prepare healthcare services for the anticipated rise in demand – they have done this whilst continuing to provide a high standard of care for those patients who need it most.

“Over the coming weeks and months, our new medical staff will gain invaluable experience they can draw upon for the rest of their medical careers, and will quickly become key parts of the clinical teams across our various wards and departments.

“We’re really pleased to have them join the team here in Fife and look forward to working with them over the coming months and years.”

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