The doctors graduating during walkouts and record waiting lists

Eighty one young people have become the first to graduate from one of the UK's newest medical schools.

With junior doctors and consultants staging a walkout over salaries - and record-high waiting lists for hospital patients - why do the graduates at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) want to brave a career in the NHS?

'Something clicked'

David Cann was rejected 12 times from medical schools but has now graduated

David Cann was already working in the NHS in haematology, as a scientist, when he decided to shadow a medical colleague on the ward.

"I just knew from day one - something clicked and that was it," he says.

The 31-year-old from Newcastle, who previously worked as a chef and in retail, was rejected by 12 medical schools before being accepted as part of the first cohort at ARU's School of Medicine in Chelmsford in 2018.

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Mr Cann is acutely aware of the challenges in the NHS and says this was magnified during the pandemic.

"It was very hectic - it was something we were never prepared for. It was something we never thought would happen - education was thrown up in the air, clinically and in the classroom."

He is unsure what to specialise in, but hopes he will have a better idea at the end of his foundation programme working in Essex - which will include paediatrics, end of life care and emergency medicine.

"There's no feeling like being in front of a patient, working with a stranger, who put all of their faith in you, where you dive into their deepest insecurities, finding out about their family and personal life - it's such a rewarding thing and something I've never experienced in any other job I've been a part of."

'Amazing experience'

Demi Bola-Ojo will work at Broomfield Hospital but would also like to work as a GP

Demi Bola-Ojo, from nearby Braintree in Essex, says she knew the NHS was "in crisis" when she signed up to the course.

"Being on placement, it hasn't always been the easiest place to work in," the 26-year-old says.

"There isn't always enough staff, there aren't always enough doctors, seeing the pressure my colleagues are under - that's probably been the most difficult part of the training."

Despite this, she says her degree was an "amazing experience" and that she "loved" being with patients.

She will work at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford in respiratory but is interested in becoming a GP.

'A life choice'

Albion Thaqi says he learnt that being a doctor was a way of life, not just a vocation

Albion Thaqi, from Woking in Surrey, is feeling particularly proud at the graduation ceremony at Chelmsford Cathedral.

The 26-year-old's mother fled Kosovo when she was 18 and could not finish her education.

He also says he was struck by what a "life choice" choosing medicine was and the high standards expected of doctors both in and outside of the wards, but says it is now "second nature".

"There was one thing that was always there during the pandemic and that was resilience and there is resilience in the NHS and for somebody who works in the NHS, to have your role valued and appreciated, as much as you value and appreciate your role - I think is important."

'Tearful'

Dr Sanjeev Ahluwalia says he feels "honoured"

The ARU School of Medicine cost about £20m to build and opened in 2018 following an expansion in public funding, with the government offering to pay for the first 100 student places.

Data last year revealed parts of Essex have the fewest GPs per 100,000 patients.

Head of the school Dr Sanjeev Ahluwalia says: "I have been tearful today. I am very proud but particularly I am delighted that many, many, years of work on the part of many, many, people but particularly the students has come to this day.

"It is just amazing to see our students graduate."