It is vital that we harness the promise of ever-more innovation-ready, tech-savvy young doctors currently coming into NHS Scotland.
With recovery and renewal ongoing, it is a challenging time to enter the profession, but after recent agreement on new working terms for junior doctors which underlined their importance to the future of the health service, there are now clear opportunities for them to make their mark.
Welcoming a fresh intake is important to bolster the workforce of course, but it also means the opening of new doors, some of which may not yet be imaginable.
Indeed, the benefits of tapping into and supporting junior doctors’ insights and diverse backgrounds should not be underestimated.
Fresh eyes can help embed game-changing innovation at this juncture for the health service when improving services and making cost savings is pivotal. Now is the time for those who can make a powerful contribution to step forward, and junior doctors are well-placed to do that.
If encouraged early on - right from studies and degree programmes onwards - they can be primed to become true agents for NHS change.
Fundamentally, it is nothing less than a chance to turn junior doctors into future innovation leaders while translating the latest academic thinking into clinical practice.
It is important therefore to immediately empower this new generation to identify challenges and more innovative approaches. Certainly, their first impressions of existing issues could help to signpost significant positive change.
A formal NHS Scotland partner of 20 years, InnoScot Health values those new insights, working closely with, and supporting entrepreneurial innovators to navigate complex areas such as intellectual property rights, medical device regulation, and funding and investment in order to get vital innovation into patients’ hands.
We are also there to help NHS innovators balance clinical, commercial, and personal demands.
An independent survey commissioned by InnoScot Health last year noted that staff rank big data and analytics, digital apps, and remote monitoring among the most important areas for future healthcare innovation - all developing areas which junior doctors can help to pioneer in.
Students and junior doctors’ enthusiasm for tackling climate change is also clear and their early involvement can have a huge cumulative effect in the NHS Scotland drive towards its 2040 Net Zero target.
NHS Scotland recently won the Sustainable Healthcare Project of the Year 2023 award at the inaugural European Sustainable Healthcare Awards after their project Green Anaesthesia Scotland was recognised for its focus on reducing the environmental impact of medical gases. A great achievement, but more must follow with junior doctors well-placed to lead the push.
We also need to open up opportunities to get them involved and our sustainability innovation call is aimed at inspiring the NHS Scotland workforce to make a vital contribution to Net Zero. New doctors may see an opportunity to forge ahead with our dedicated support.
We firmly believe that a new generation’s limitless mindset can become synonymous with positive transformation, career advancement, and the breaking of glass ceilings.
Graham Watson is Executive Chair of InnoScot Health
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