Doctor’s helping hand to aspiring medics
A social media post appealing for medics to help mentor school children with aspirations to become doctors has attracted more than 2,000 volunteers.
Dr Brian Wang, who works at Northwick Park Hospital, now leads a network of medical students and junior doctors reaching out to schools across the UK.
Its deliberate focus on schools with no history of students applying to medical school hopes to open young people’s eyes to their own potential regardless of their social and economic circumstances.
Brian, 27, said: “A lot of school pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds probably think a career in medicine is beyond them. I’m here to tell them it isn’t.
“I couldn’t speak English when I arrived in the UK and struggled through school. There were a lot of tears and hard work but I got there in the end and the message is: so can you with the right attitude.”
Brian laid the foundations for 'In2MedSchool' during the height of the pandemic with his original LinkedIn post.
The volunteers mentor 16 year-olds at least once every six weeks providing practical advice and support on studying, college applications and medical interviews.
“I lost count of how many letters I wrote asking for work experience before my medical school interview. A surgeon eventually responded and allowed me to follow him around for a month.”
Brian is keen to bring more diversity to the UK’s existing workforce of clinicians which remains predominantly white and privileged with more than 40% coming from private schools.
“There is nothing wrong with that but is does make an assumption that a career in medicine is only open to a certain class of people. There is a lot of potentially wasted talent there and isn’t reflective of the population, especially in areas like London.”
'In2MedSchool' is currently seeking charity status and has several goals.
Brian added: “We want to build out network of mentors and have a pipeline where hospitals agree to provide some sort of meaningful work experience to school pupils wanting to study medicine.
“It is about investing in future generations of doctors who we hope will then return to mentor at their schools.”
For more information, visit in2medschool.com