Exeter university student wins international award

Naabil Khan, a third year student at the the University of Exeter, was awarded the Racial Justice in Medicine Award

A medical student in Devon has become the first British student to win an international racial justice award.

Naabil Khan, a third year student at the the University of Exeter, was awarded the Racial Justice in Medicine Award by the American Medical Student Association (AMSA).

The award, for "exceptional individuals", recognised Ms Khan for "supporting aspiring medical students and tackling inequality in teaching materials".

Ms Khan said winning the award was a "huge honour".

'International issue'

The 21-year-old was presented with the award at a conference in Washington DC and said it was now at home with her parents who were "very insistent" to display it.

Speaking to BBC Radio Devon she said: "It took me by surprise really because as a UK medical student you would never have thought it your wildest imagination you would ever receive an award like this.

"It's an international issue that really deserves to be recognised so it was honestly such a huge honour winning the award.

"I couldn't thank my friends and family enough for the support they gave me so it wasn't just my win, it was all of our win."

Ms Khan was recognised for her Very Junior Doctors podcast and her Skin For All website

Ms Khan was recognised for her work as co-host of the Very Junior Doctors podcast, which discusses life as a medical student and tackles issues such as imposter syndrome and accepting criticism.

She was also acknowledged for her creation of the Skin For All website which shows different skin conditions on a range of skin tones.

"I felt quite passionate about the fact representation equals lives being saved and having ill representation means that diagnoses are missed," she said.

"It was very much a passion project of mine and I'm so happy with the response it's gotten so far."

In addition to her AMSA award, Ms Khan was recently announced as a winner of the Rising Star Award in Healthcare with WeAreTheCity for her work.