Founded by Dr. Tom Hewson and Dr. Nikki Thomas in 2017, PsychStart is a career-based mentoring programme wherein students are paired one-to-one with a local consultant psychiatrist or higher trainee (ST4+). Our fantastic mentors cover a broad range of psychiatric sub-specialties, ranging from forensic to general adult to transgender mental health.

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The scheme is aimed at those who are interested in psychiatry or want to learn more about the specialty. We offer shadowing opportunities across a wide range of locations from prisons, to crisis teams and specialist eating disorder clinics. You could obtain practical experiences at psychiatric facilities, gain early clinical exposure to psychiatry, get involved with research, attend conferences, benefit from careers advice and support with bursaries/prizes/elective applications, and learn about the role of a Psychiatrist. You could also gain experience and mentoring in medical education, research and management. Your opportunities with us are endless!

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Since its formal launch event in January 2018, PsychStart has grown from strength to strength. Notable achievements of our mentees include the establishment of a new society supporting BME medical students; involvement in various research projects and audits; and shadowing experiences at various psychiatric facilities.

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The scheme is open to all medical students at the University of Nottingham. Sister schemes have also been set up at the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester and Newcastle University.