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Our Director of Education and Quality, Wendy Reid, welcomes learners
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22 September 2015
Our Director of Education and Quality, Wendy Reid, has released a message to learners across England:
I am delighted to welcome you, our new generation of doctors and dentists, as you embark on your career and the next stage of your education and training.
Following a career in healthcare is a decision not to be taken lightly, but I thank you for making that choice. I hope you were inspired by the opportunity to take up a career that offers variety, development, a lifetime of learning and most importantly, the chance to make a real and tangible difference to people’s lives.
As your career develops, more and more people will invest their trust in you to select the best care for them or their loved ones. You will work with others, playing an important role within a team of clinicians, nursing and other professionals determining patient care as part of a multi-disciplinary team. If your career path leads to further work in the NHS you will join, not only a world-class organisation, but also work alongside a wide variety of people from a range of professions and backgrounds, but all following the goal to deliver the highest quality care for people.
The NHS, like many healthcare systems, faces many challenges, not least meeting the twin pressures of rising healthcare demand from an aging population and offering the latest advances in medicines and treatments. Despite these challenges, however, the NHS is admired across the world and its model of providing healthcare free at the point of delivery has been adopted by many countries.
This year and next, we will invest around £5billion by funding a range of activities such as student’s fees, clinical placements, teacher development and specialist training. This huge investment is not just about providing you with the skills to care for patients, but also about instilling the core values from the NHS Constitution, as well as the values and responsibilities in medical practice. Compassion, understanding, delivering high quality care and putting patients first are just a few of the attributes we expect you to bring into the NHS and remain with you during your career. That’s why, each year, every member of NHS staff will be recruited, not only on academic attainment, knowledge and experience, but also on your values and behaviours. That can only be good for our patients and create a stronger NHS.
I am hugely proud to be part of HEE and that we are the organisation funding and overseeing your training. I hope our investment in you, as our next generation of doctors, helps you to fulfil your ambitions to deliver excellent care to patients now and in the future.
In our role as the body responsible for education and training in the NHS we value your feedback on your experiences, both in higher education and clinical settings. You can keep up to date on all our recent developments by visiting the HEE website or connect with us via:
Professor Wendy Reid
Director of Education & Quality and Medical Director
Health Education England