Fourth-year students Pratham Gurung and David Houghton were awarded Medical Student of the Year and Undergraduate Quality Improvement / Audit Project of The Year respectively at the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) Health Education Awards.
Both students attended the ceremony in July, where they were presented with their awards amongst fellow students, colleagues and health-care professionals. The Health Education Awards are an annual celebratory event to recognise hard work, leadership, teaching, mentoring, successes and achievements of those working or training within the health education learning environment.
Pratham Gurung was selected as Medical Student of the Year as a candidate amongst 18 other medical students from Kent and Medway Medical School (KMMS), Kings College London (KCL) and St George’s University of London (SGUL). The nominated students were then given a choice of two topics to present to a panel of judges to decide the overall winner. Pratham’s winning presentation answered, ‘how to get the most out of your undergraduate clinical placement at East Kent’.
When asked about the award, Pratham said: “This year has been an amazing opportunity to learn about so much of what I was looking forward to for many years, and for this I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and various clinicians who made huge personal efforts to make placement as amazing as it was. I’d also like to express my gratitude to my friends who have been my support throughout the years and enabled me to reach where I have.”
Francesco Abbadessa, Rowan Boddy, Faye Patton, Ellen Sheppard and Bobby White were also nominated in the Medical Student of the Year category.
David Houghton was awarded Undergraduate Quality Improvement / Audit Project of The Year for his work titled ‘effects of exercise on autonomic function and quality of life in chronic liver disease (CLD) in two randomised controlled trials’.
He said: “Completing this project while studying full-time has been challenging at times, but I have found these challenges rewarding and have appreciated the independence it has provided me. I am passionate about research and innovation, and will seek further opportunities similar to this project and beyond in my future career as a doctor.”
The event took place at the The Night Yard Highland Court Farm in Canterbury, with KMMS being represented by Dr Ana Oliveira, Dr Scarpa Schoeman and Dr Marlene Schoeman.
Congratulations to Pratham, David, and all the nominees!