Matthew Jones
Over 300 junior doctors have joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board this August as the Autumn induction programme got underway.
In a big recruitment drive, the Health Board has taken on 315 new doctors who chose Cardiff due to its reputation for good training and development, the varied specialties they could work within and the city itself.
During their time they will be working on various rotations including paediatrics, trauma, surgery and general medicine.
The recruitment drive is an important time for our future NHS professionals as it allows them to work across the health board, choose their specialty and focus on their careers in delivering excellent patient care.
Matthew Jones from Somerset has been training for five years and has decided to pursue a career as a GP in Cardiff after working both in Wales and England. His first day was in Paediatrics where he would spend six months before rotating to the Emergency Unit to learn more about trauma.
He said; “I graduated from Cardiff University and thought I would come back to the hospital that I know reasonably well. It’s a big hospital, it’s a trauma centre, it’s certainly somewhere where you would learn an awful lot of medicine or surgery and it’s a lovely city to live in as well.”
Dr Qian Chen chose to come and work in Cardiff from Shanghai and said he was starting in Surgery but had an interest in Paediatrics. He said; “Firstly, my seniors told me that Cardiff and Wales in general has got a really good teaching programme for junior doctors, and everyone is really nice and supportive and you learn a lot here.
“Secondly, at the time the junior doctor contract was quite a concern for doctors in England so I think that is a big reason for why many of us chose Wales this year.
“And thirdly I was feeling quite adventurous myself and thought I’d never been to Cardiff or Wales so I thought I would come here and explore.”
Dr Graham Shortland, Medical Director for the Health Board said; “This time of year is really important as it’s where our new doctors join us with hopes, aspirations, ideas and innovations to learn and develop in their medical careers. It’s our job to nurture and teach them to become the best they can be whilst deliver our values and excellent patient experience.
“With regards to wider recruitment in Wales, from my perspective we should be pushing very hard what Wales can offer, as I do believe it has a great deal to offer. We have a lot to offer here in Cardiff, as do my other Medical Directors in other health boards across the rest of Wales.”
