Specialist scholarship for aspiring doctor

An aspiring doctor who grew up watching her grandad receive medical treatment in hospital has been rewarded with a five-year scholarship from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

Zaynah Moazzam, who has been successful in securing one of a small number of places on the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) available to UK students from the North West, has been awarded the prestigious Livesey Scholarship.

The Livesey Scholarship is offered to two MBBS students who successfully complete UCLan’s Pathways to Medicine Programme. The Pathways to Medicine programme has been developed for students from the North West of England who are from backgrounds that are under-represented at universities. It provides advice, skills, and support to strengthen student applications to medicine and other related professional healthcare courses. The scholarships cover all tuition fees for the duration of the five-year course.

The 19-year-old, from Blackburn, said: “Receiving the place on the course was a dream come true but being awarded the scholarship was truly surreal. It hasn’t been an easy journey to get to this position, but I am so grateful for all the support and encouragement I had from my family, I wouldn’t be in this position without them. It feels surreal to be living my dream and I am also grateful UCLan gave me the opportunity to fulfil my goals.”

She began her UCLan journey in September 2020 after she accepted a place on the Foundation Medical Sciences course at UCLan Burnley.

“I chose to study this course on A-level results day in 2020 as I came through clearing,” said Zaynah. “I had an offer from another university to study biomedical science but there was something which didn’t feel right so after researching alternative courses I came across the medical sciences course at UCLan and decided this was the right course for me after reading about the programme and the opportunities available.”

Talking about the Foundation Medical Sciences course she has just completed, Zaynah highlighted the facilities and staff support she received during her first year.

She said: “The campus for the medical sciences course was at Burnley. Although most lectures were online, we had some face-to-face tutorials on campus when restrictions were eased. When attending these tutorials, the campus was easily accessible, had amazing facilities and an open sitting area allowing students to interact with each other outside of lessons and it also provided a great working area with spaces dedicated to quiet study time.

“Now I have joined the MBBS programme, which is based at Preston for the first two years, so I’m looking forward to spending more time on campus now Covid-19 restrictions have eased and seeing what lies ahead in my future studying at UCLan on my dream course.”

Zaynah has drawn on her experience of the NHS treating her grandad as inspiration for pursuing a career as a doctor and she is looking forward to having a similar positive impact on the lives of people that need medical support from doctors.

She commented: “Growing up watching my grandad being treated in and out of hospital and visiting him every day he was there, I was able to witness how much doctors cared for him and although nurses did amazing work and enhanced his activities of daily living, it was the doctors that ultimately made the decisions on how to strengthen his weak heart. This is one of the reasons why I chose to study medicine, so I can gain the ability to do just that; investigate and then make decisions of treatment to ease pain and manage long-term chronic diseases to save lives.”

She added: “I would advise every student to never give up pursuing their goals. I know how difficult this journey is and there are many times when you lose hope, but hard work always pays off so don’t give up! If you are unsuccessful at first, don’t be disheartened use it as motivation!”