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Ulster University's medical school celebrates first graduation

Ulster University a group of 69 medical graduates stand on the stairs of Derry's millenium forum following their gradution. the men and women are wearing formal dress and mortar boards and gonsUlster University
The first doctors to qualify from the Derry school started training in 2021

The first cohort of newly qualified doctors has graduated from Ulster University's School of Medicine in Londonderry.

Prior to the school opening at the university's campus in Derry, the only medical school in Northern Ireland was at Queen's University in Belfast.

The inaugural graduation ceremony for the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) students, who started their training at the Derry school in 2021, took place in the city's Millennium Forum on Monday.

Laura Hockley was among the school's first graduates and said it was "amazing" to be able to train at a medical school in her hometown.

Ulster University A smiling young woman takes a selfie. she is wearing blue medical scrubs, and an orange lanyard is around her neck. she has long blonde hair and is standing in front of a number of treesUlster University
Laura starts working as a doctor next month in Altnagelvin hospital

"I am really proud that it (the medical school) is in Derry," she told BBC Radio Foyle's Twenty Minutes with Mark Patterson programme.

"I couldn't have afforded to study medicine anywhere else. When they announced the school of medicine opening up at home I thought this was my opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do. It was an opportunity I never thought I was going to get," she said.

Laura, who had previously studied a degree in biomedical science, is due to start her career at the cardiology department of Altnagelvin Hospital in July.

She is among the first 69 students to graduate from Ulster University's graduate medical school.

The majority of graduates have been offered roles as doctors in Northern Ireland, according to Prof Louise Dubras, the school's foundation dean.

The school on the university's Derry campus, formerly known as Magee, opened in 2021 after several delays and concerns over sustainable funding.

It is hoped the school's opening in the city would eventually help to address a relative shortage of doctors in Northern Ireland.