Marathon effort for PATCH from trainee doctors
The students made their mark in the marathon running, and chose a route which spelled out ‘PATCH’ across the city, raising £200.
In August 2020, a group of young medical students have shown dedication and commitment to palliative care in and out of their studies, supporting the work of PATCH and raising funds by running a marathon around Glasgow.
The students are part of the Glasgow University Palliative Care Society, which was founded to raise awareness of palliative care and advocate for the inclusion of more teaching on it in the medical school curriculum.
Some of the students have experience working in care homes and hospital wards and it was through this the importance of palliative care was recognised.
The future of palliative care looks and sounds very positive as we hear about initiatives coming from those who will go into the medical and nursing professions. Right across all care settings from hospitals, care homes and people’s own homes, there is a far greater need for awareness about what good palliative care is and why we all deserve it, if needed.
I feel truly inspired by the team of students at Glasgow who have shown such initiative and ultimately thoughtfulness for others and our charity. At such a difficult time for the student population too, we were so touched by their thoughtfulness. We would like to thank them for the funds raised and wish them all the best as they continue in their studies.
The Glasgow University Palliative Care Society
The Glasgow University Palliative Care Society is the revival of an old society at the university made up of a dynamic group of medical and nursing students.
Their recent history began in 2019 when two final year medical students, passionate about palliative care, re-started the society to raise awareness of the specialty and advocate for the inclusion of more teaching on it in the medical school curriculum.
The society expanded last year to include students from all years and they hosted an introductory event where they invited Dr Fiona Finlay, the lead for palliative care teaching at the university, to speak about palliative care, its importance and the pathway to becoming a doctor in the specialty.
Their members have become interested in the specialty through reading around the subject (notable influences include Atul Gawande’s books, Paul Kalanithi’s “When Breath Becomes Air” and Catherine Mannix’s “WIth the End in Mind”) and working in settings such as care homes and hospital wards where they recognised the importance palliative care.