News
UK Medical Education Database is Launched
F
ollowing a successful pilot in 2016, the UK Medical Education Database (UKMED) is re-opening applications for research projects in its 2017 cycle. The first of its kind, UKMED is a partnership between organisations responsible for medical education in the UK – participants include the GMC, the UK Foundation Program Office and the UKCAT. It aims to create a multidisciplinary database, linking up undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, to collate information such as assessment results and performance in entrance examinations. Prospective researchers will be allowed access to the database, subject to formal evaluation and a successful application. A broad scope of research is expected with UKMED, which may help with identifying key performance indicators for prospective medical school applicants, medical students and junior doctors, as well as the relationship between an individual’s socioeconomic background and their progression through university and training. Such analysis would give new insight into the factors that have more of an influence than others at different points in a person’s medical career. The deadline for applications is the 31st of January 2017. JS
UCL Medical Students Awarded for Outstanding Performance Following the annual Marsden lecture at the Royal Free Hospital, on the 17th of November, the top medical students in each year were commended for their exceptional performance. The certificates were jointly awarded to the students by Professor Jason Leitch, the National Clinical Director for the Scottish Government, and Jeremy Blanford, Master of the Cordwainers. The students were congratulated for coming top in their year and credited as being “the creme de la creme”, by David Sloman, the Chief Executive for the Royal Free London Foundation Trust. We too would like to congratulate the students for their excep- In October 2016, the UK government antional achievement. nounced plans to increase the number of medical school places by 25% by 2018, from 6,000 The winners are as follows: to 7,500. The increases were announced by • 1st Prize for overall performance in Year 1 - Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt as part of proThe Cordwainers Prize: Miss Emma Woolcock posals to develop a more self-sufficient NHS • 1st Prize for overall performance in Year 2 by training more local doctors and lowering - The Cordwainers Prize: Mr Richard Picardo reliance on recruiting doctors from overseas. • 1st Prize for Best MBPhD Thesis of the Year The move is expected to include a £100 mil- The Cordwainers Prize: Mr Fergus O’Farrell lion boost in funding to support these extra • Runner Up Prize for Best MBPhD Thesis of training places, as well as penalties to discourthe Year - The Cordwainers Prize: Mr Christo- age junior doctors from working abroad for pher Bricogne four years after qualifying. UCLMS students • Runner Up Prize for Best MBPhD Thesis of Raj Pradhan and Ozzy Eboreime spoke to inthe Year - The Cordwainers Prize: Mr Alexan- terviewers in a Five News segment to express der Brown their thoughts about these changes. • 1st Prize for overall performance in Year 4 - “I’m quite concerned that I might get stuck in The William Marsden Scholarship: Miss Sonar a bit of a dead-end job where I’m working but Vadera not actually progressing my career or improv• 1st Prize for overall performance in Year 5 - ing my ability to practice,” Raj said, arguing that The Cordwainers Prize: Miss Enya Cooney the new plans would produce disenfranchised • 1st Prize for overall performance in Year 6 - doctors with little motivation to increase their The Cordwainers Prize: Mr Danyal Jajbhay quality of care.
“I think for patient-centred care, we want doc-
UCLMS Students Weigh in tors in places that they want to choose for the on Jeremy Hunt’s Changes to right reasons,” Ozzy added.AK Training UCL to Invest £1m to Develop New Learning Spaces
RUMS Review
12
UCL Library Services and UCL Estates are jointly investing £1m into developing new learning spaces and enhancing existing ones for students and staff members. Improvement proposals have been approved by the Central Estate Strategy Board, which has awarded UCL Library services £830k to carry them out, along with an extra £200k being invested by Library Services themselves. UCL libraries across different campus sites can expect improvements such as the addition of power plugs to desks in the UCL Institute of Education library and the creation of 91 extra seats for study. These improvements are being made ahead of the New Student Centre which will introduce up to 1,000 seats on completion in 2019. Refurbishment of the ground floor of the Science Library is already underway and is set to provide another 21 study seats and a combined ISD and library helpdesk by February 2017. JS