About You Can Be A Doctor
Our Mission
Breaking down barriers to enable individuals from underprivileged backgrounds to embark on the path to a medical career.
Welcome to You Can Be A Doctor, a Scottish charity founded and run by a team of doctors and medical students.
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Our passionate team is committed to promoting equal opportunities for aspiring doctors, ensuring that individuals from less advantaged areas and schools receive the necessary support to realise their aspirations.
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We firmly believe that fostering social diversity within the medical profession not only benefits doctors but also enhances patient care. By creating pathways to medical education for underprivileged students, we strive to create a more inclusive and representative healthcare community.
What We Do
You Can Be A Doctor have a variety of resources and volunteers dedicated to outreach and support for children from less privileged backgrounds who are interested in studying medicine.
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​Application support: Our experienced volunteers work closely with pupils, offering guidance, support, and advice on the journey to medical school. We believe in nurturing not just medical skills but also the resilience and determination needed to succeed. We offer a host of resources and run a variety of events aimed to support students every step of the way.
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Community Outreach: We actively engage with schools across Scotland raising awareness about the opportunities in the medical field and breaking down the barriers that often deter disadvantaged students from pursuing a medical career. Our S1 programme, Meet the Medics, and Intro to Anatomy events have been hugely successful in generating interest in medicine in those who may otherwise have not considered a career in medicine. ​
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Advocacy and Partnerships: You Can Be a Doctor collaborates with educational institutions, medical professionals, and other organisations to advocate for equal access to medical education. We are committed to driving policy changes that promote diversity and inclusion in medical schools.
To ensure that our resources are effectively allocated to those who need them most, we have established specific eligibility criteria for our events.
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These criteria help You Can Be A Doctor identify and support deserving individuals who may face barriers in their journey towards becoming doctors.
Our Team
Our board is made up of doctors and medical students, most of whom came through widening participation programmes themselves.
Callum Cruickshank
Trustee
MoE/ Psychiatry Fellow
Maddy Clarke
Board Member
Medical Student
Nadia Salloum
Board Member
Core Surgical Trainee
Paula Glancy
Trustee
Haematology ST3
Benissa Ingabire
Board Member
Medical Student
Callum Livingstone
Board Member
Foundation Doctor
Cory Dunnigan
Trustee
Radiology ST5
Caitlyn Scott
Board Member
Medical Student
Mark Tait
Trustee
Anaesthetics Registrar
Fiona McLachlan
Board Member
IMT Trainee
Minnie Randle
Board Member
Foundation Doctor
Neng Gao
Board Member
General Surgery ST3
William Lawrence
Board Member
Foundation Doctor
Hannah McManus
Board Member
Paediatric Trainee
Our Affiliations
Widening participation can only be achieved through collaboration. We've teamed up with a variety of societies including some prestigious Royal Colleges who have pledged their support in widening participation activities.
DWAMSS
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of General Practitioners
Royal College of Physicians
MOGWAI
Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh
Medic Insight Glasgow
Association of Anaesthetists
Reach Edinburgh
