Scottish medical students have been asked to graduate early in order to join the NHS in its battle against Covid-19.

Trainee medics at the University of Aberdeen will miss nine weeks of their course in order to work in hospitals where heroic medical workers are fighting the coronavirus. 

The decision was taken in line with guidance from the General Medical Council (GMC) and the new doctors will begin work in a "supported and supervised environment" across Scotland and the UK by the end of this month.

Due to lockdown restrictions, a total of 179 students will take part in a virtual graduation ceremony before embarking on their new careers. 

Professor Rona Patey, director of the Institute for Education in Medical and Dental Sciences at Aberdeen University, said: “Our medical graduates will begin their careers by applying their skills and knowledge to support the response to an unprecedented world health crisis.

"We are immensely proud of their achievements and are confident that they are prepared and ready for the challenges ahead.”

The student cohort will swear an oath which has been taken by Aberdeen medical graduates since the 1880s which marks "their success and transition into one of the world’s most trusted professions".

Professor Siladitya Bhattacharya, Head of the School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, will give the closing address.

He said: “Everything the Class of 2020 have learned over the last five years will be tested in the weeks and months to come and they will succeed because they are absolutely ready.

"We are immensely proud of our new doctors and wish them the very best in these unprecedented times.”

Under normal circumstances, medical students would have been "capped" on June 19 but will now be pre-registered as doctors next week by the GMC)

Students were asked to register after the UK Government asked the GMC for help in supporting the NHS. 

Callum Eddie, 23, from Aberdeen will spend the next two years working as a junior doctor in his home city. His mother is a GP.

“Being a doctor is all I've ever wanted to be so I am looking forward to doing what I can," he said.

“In the last few weeks I have been in awe of the NHS. Every single person working, or volunteering, has been absolutely incredible, and it has been amazing to hear everyone’s support every Thursday evening too.

“The amount of work everyone has put in, and the danger people are putting themselves in on the front lines is absolutely admirable.

“I am sure my classmates would agree, the way we can contribute to the effort to tackle COVID-19 is to do literally whatever is needed.

"We are all in this together, healthcare professionals and the general public included, and if we all continue working together as a team we will get through this.”

Nadia Crolla, 26, from Glasgow, will be joining one of the medical wards at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

“The Medical School has prepared us well for the stress and uncertainty that comes with being a doctor and although things are not functioning as normal at the minute, we have huge amounts of support from staff and colleagues to get us through this," she said. 

“The majority of being a good doctor doesn't come from books, it comes from how you communicate with people and how you maintain empathy in the most trying of times and the medical school have done a stellar job to prepare us for this.” 

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