Lancaster Medical School has been chosen to run a Medical Schools Council Summer School 2020 in collaboration with Edge Hill University and the University of Liverpool.

Funded by Health Education England, MSC Summer Schools are residential events for young people in England who are thinking about a career as a doctor, in particular those who are from areas where few students apply to study medicine.

Lancaster’s Director of Admissions and Deputy Director of Medical Studies Dr Karen Grant said : “We are delighted to have been selected to run a MSC summer school in 2020.

“The funding will allow us to offer the opportunity of a medicine-specific summer school to more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and collaborating with Liverpool and Edge Hill Medical Schools will help those young people to make a more informed decision about applying to study medicine in the future. All three universities are committed to recruiting medical students from all backgrounds and training future doctors who reflect the diversity of UK society.”

At an MSC Summer School students will learn about what it takes to work as a doctor, from clinical and communications skills to the values that underpin the profession.

Host medical schools create their own programmes while drawing from teaching resources developed by key bodies in the sector, including the Royal Colleges.

There will be five MSC Summer Schools in 2020, with eight medical schools participating.

Dr Paul Garrud, Chair of the MSC Selection Alliance, said: “Congratulations to the medical schools who will be hosting events next year. It’s especially pleasing to see some collaborations between medical schools, which show how keen the sector is to pull together when it comes to widening access to the medical profession.”

Katie Adams, National Senior Programme Manager – Widening Participation at Health Education England, said: “Health Education England’s widening participation programme has championed a range of programmes including supporting students from under represented backgrounds into medicine for some years now with the aim to encourage social mobility and ensure our NHS is more representative of the diverse communities it serves.

“We are delighted to be able to continue this support by funding these summer schools across England as they will reach out to students who previously may have thought medicine was beyond them.”

Applications for MSC Summer Schools in 2020 are expected to begin in late 2019. Students can register their interest in attending the Summer School at www.lancaster.ac.uk/summer-schools