Experiences of a new training programme for final-year medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen the rapid introduction of innovative schemes to maximise the medical workforce and utilise untapped capacity within the NHS. One such innovation was the recruitment of final year medical students as medical support workers (MSWs) immediately following their final examinations and 4 months before they would have traditionally been employed in their foundation year 1 (FY1) roles. In this article we will describe how a unique programme, with a focus on welfare and pastoral support, was developed and implemented at a hospital in North London and illustrate why the overwhelmingly positive feedback from both the participants and their supervisors has had implications for how medical student training has been shaped for the September 2020 intake at this hospital.