Aspiring doctor Fatima Khan accepted for five year scholarship with UCLan
A budding paediatric doctor from East Lancashire has scooped a prestigious five-year scholarship with the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
Fatima Khan, from Burnley, will study through the Mackenzie Scholarship for a Bachelor Medicine Bachelor Surgery (MBBS) degree at UCLan.
The Mackenzie Scholarship is offered jointly by UCLan and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and covers the tuition fees of the student in receipt.
Fatima, who is aiming to work as a paediatric doctor in the future, says winning the scholarship has been a life changing experience for her and will enable her to now try and achieve her career dream to provide medical care for children.
Fatima said: “Receiving an investment into my education like this is truly humbling. It has lifted a huge financial burden from my family and myself. It has led me to become exceedingly driven to create a rewarding educational experience for myself. I cannot even begin to express the gratitude I feel from receiving this very generous scholarship. I still can’t believe it to this day!”
"Receiving an investment into my education like this is truly humbling. It has lifted a huge financial burden from my family and myself. It has led me to become exceedingly driven to create a rewarding educational experience for myself."
The Mackenzie Scholarship is part of a wider, long-term UCLan strategy to attract and retain local doctors to NHS employment in the Lancashire region, in response to the issues faced in both Lancashire and Cumbria relating to attracting and retaining health professionals.
Fatima, who originally hails from Surrey, says she has always wanted to work in paediatric medicine and this will now give her the chance to fulfil that dream.
She adds : “I am really hoping now that I can follow my MBBS course into a career in paediatrics. I would like to play an important role if I can in the medical care of the lives of young infants, children and adolescents."
“Working with families, treating diseases and illnesses and supporting the wider community, alongside the future generations, is particularly stimulating for me and I hope I can make a difference.