(From left) Dr Balwinder Bajaj, Mark Davies and Paul Jackson, from The Hospital Saturday Fund, Stuart Swan, Senior Development Manager at Swansea University, Professor Kenneth Mckeegan, Programme Director for Graduate Entry Medicine, Tim Hunt, Employability and Placements Assistant and Kathy Chamberlain, Senior Development Officer, Swansea University.
Medical students at Swansea University have been given vital cash support to take up valuable training opportunities.
A donation of £10,000 was presented to the University’s Medical School by The Hospital Saturday Fund, a health assistance charity which also provides support for medical training in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The funding will be used towards the cost of providing medical electives, an integral part of the Graduate Entry Medicine course which gives students the chance to gain invaluable experience before they leave university to begin their careers.
Students can choose their own placements, granting them learning opportunities they would not otherwise receive. Some choose placements at prestigious institutions, or in well-known specialist clinics while others seek placements in specific specialities.
However, accommodation, insurance, and other costs, have made elective placements increasingly expensive so the Fund’s additional support will help to maximise potential placement opportunities for students from all socio-economic backgrounds.
The charity’s Group Chief Executive Paul Jackson and Mark Davies, Vice-Chair of HSF Health Plan, visited Swansea to meet Medical School representatives, including students, and hear more about how the funding will help enhance their training.
Dr Balwinder Bajaj, Medical Electives Lead at Swansea University, said: “We are grateful for the Hospital Saturday Fund’s support of the medical electives programme of the Graduate-Entry Medicine course.
“This ensures access to global health learning opportunities for our students for the benefit of future patient care in the UK and internationally.”
Mr Jackson said: “At the Hospital Saturday Fund, we are committed to supporting medical electives programmes knowing the huge impact this will have on the students’ learning experience to become the next generation of great doctors and health professionals.
“We look forward to the positive impact our grant will have for the 2024 medical students at Swansea.”