A medical student from Market Drayton has won a prestigious award after beating off competition from all over the country.
Jennifer James, 26, of Heathside Farm, Childs Ercall, has been awarded the arc Prize in Rheumatology by leading medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign.
A fourth year medical student at the University of Nottingham, Jennifer is among only a handful of medical students in the UK to be awarded the arc prize, for demonstrating an outstanding knowledge of arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions.
Jennifer said: “I am thrilled to win the award and it is totally unexpected. The award is given to the person who gets the highest marks in the year, and fortunately I came out on top, it is a wonderful surprise.”
Jennifer came top of her year through a combination of exam results and clinical skills. She will receive her award, an engraved silver medal, and a cash prize of £250 at her graduation ceremony at Nottingham
University on Thursday, July 17.
Jennifer has just returned from Nepal where she spent two months giving aid to local people. She said: “The experience in Nepal was fascinating and very different to anything I have done in the past.
“There is no NHS in Nepal and people have to buy their own medicine before they can be treated.
“It was very difficult to provide the same level of care that you get in this country which was very hard to deal with but it was an important experience for us as a group of junior doctors.”
Jennifer has been offered a job at the Torbay Hospital in Devon where she will begin two years of general practice after her graduation. Arthritis is then one of the areas she may look to specialise in.
The Arthritis Research Campaign, who awarded Jennifer her award, aims to raise funds to promote medical research into the cause, treatment and cure of arthritic conditions and to educate medical students about arthritis and provide information to the general public.
The charity raised more than £32m from public donations last year to fund its research and education programme.
For more information on the organisation or to make a donation call 0870 850 5000 or 01246 558033.
