The Friarage Hospital has welcomed its first medical students from Hull York Medical School as they embark on a new education initiative.
The programme will see six students working alongside doctors and healthcare professionals over the next year, delivering care in the community and at the Northallerton hospital.
The fourth year students are on a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC).
This is one of the first of its kind in England, providing medical students with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills, building on what they have learnt in their academic programme and further developing their clinical and communication skills.
They have the chance to follow selected patients on their healthcare journeys, from GP to hospital clinic and admissions.
The students undertaking the LIC are based in Northallerton and spend three days per week at a rural or semi-rural GP surgery, and one to two days per week at the hospital.
They began their training in September and will be in North Yorkshire for the next year.
Dr James Dunbar, clinical director at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, said: “We are delighted to welcome our first Hull York medical students to the Friarage Hospital, and we have already been able to begin their training, following our patients and clinicians in the hospital, as well as working closely with healthcare professionals in the community.
“Health services in North Yorkshire face some particularly difficult workforce challenges and therefore it is great to see students experiencing the provision of care in a rural setting.
“I know from personal experience that locally trained doctors are more likely to stay in the areas where they have trained and hope that in the future, we’ll be able to welcome back some of the students to work with us at the Friarage.
“The ambitious plans to increase the number of students to around 50 over the next few years means that we can look forward to training many more students at the Friarage Hospital and providing them with great experiences of working in healthcare in North Yorkshire and of working in this great hospital.”
Dr Kevin Anderson, Director of Primary Care Education at Hull York Medical School and a GP himself, believes the LIC will provide students with a first class learning experience.
He said: “The arrival of the students in this part of North Yorkshire marks a milestone in the development and expansion of our medical programme.
“We hope the LIC year will provide a great opportunity for these pioneering students to be immersed in the whole patient journey on their clinical placements and follow the same patients over time in a variety of clinical settings.”
Hull York Medical School was established in 2003 in response to the need to address the acute shortage of doctors within the Yorkshire region.
It is a joint medical school of the universities of Hull and York and works in partnership with regional NHS trusts and community healthcare providers to ensure it responds to local workforce needs and provides its students with the knowledge and skills to deliver exceptional care to patients.
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