Northwick Park Hospital Doctor Brian Wang awarded first place in the Healthcare Leadership Academy Project Award
A Northwick Park Hospital doctor has been recognised by the Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) for his work in developing a widening participation initiative which supports students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Brian Wang founded In2MedSchool, which aims to tackle the inaccessibility of the medical profession, providing support for aspiring medical students from schools with traditionally very few or no successful applicants in this area. In the UK, 80% of all successful medical applicants come from only 20% of schools.
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By offering free 1-1 mentoring with medical students and junior doctors, In2MedShool encourages A-level/Advanced Higher studies students to pursue their interest in medicine.
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The programme was developed by Brian alongside a team of fellow doctors and medical students as a part of his Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA) project.
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Each year the HLA scholars each choose a project with a social aim, then research it, plan it and enact it, eventually submitting a final report to prove their impact. Out of around one hundred projects, the top three are selected by consensus amongst all the cohort directors in a blind marking process. This year’s award winners are:
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1st - Brian Wang
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2nd - Katie Cranfield
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3rd - Johnathan Hirniak
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Honourable mention - Asha Thompson
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Brian describes how his dreams about studying medicine, and experience of having no-one to turn to for advice, pushed him to create an avenue that could provide a foundation for others in the same position:
He said: “When my family and I first moved to the UK, we lived in a council flat, and I struggled to learn English. At secondary school I had big dreams about studying Medicine but I didn't know who to turn to for advice. Coming from this, to then studying my undergraduate Medical degree at Cambridge, then a PHD in Cardiology at Imperial, I have overcome many hurdles in life, and I want to remove those hurdles for others from underprivileged backgrounds to help make Medicine more inclusive.”
Already, the programme has gained recognition outside of the HLA. In2MedSchool has been voted as the most sustainable widening participation initiative by the Medical Schools Council at their national widening participation conference in 2020.
Speaking about the awards, Dr Johann Malawana, Managing Director, the Healthcare Leadership Academy.said: “This year’s cohort have achieved great things and we are so proud to highlight these exceptional projects.
“We formed the HLA in 2016 in response to a demand from young clinicians and healthcare students to learn about leadership. Our project winners have not only learnt about leadership, but they have also embodied it, with their hard work on these projects continuing to make a positive impact on the landscape of healthcare.”