Latest news with #ArtsUniversityBournemouth
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Record 121 graduate from Duke-NUS Medical School; some had jobs in law, public relations, accounting
This was the largest number of graduates for a class in the school's 20-year history. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Record 121 graduate from Duke-NUS Medical School; some had jobs in law, public relations, accounting SINGAPORE – With no background in science, Dr Faith Wong pursued her calling of becoming a doctor at the age of 40. The mother of one previously graduated with a degree in modelmaking from Arts University Bournemouth and then worked in the animation industry. She had suffered depression as a teenager, which was subsequently diagnosed as bipolar disorder, and the experience led her to want to become a doctor. On May 31, the now 44-year-old fulfilled that wish and was among 121 graduates from Duke-NUS Medical School at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Auditorium at Academia located at the Singapore General Hospital Campus. This was the largest number of graduates for a class in its 20-year history. Dr Wong was among the 41 per cent of the 72 doctor of medicine graduates who made mid-career switches from fields such as law, public relations, accounting and mental health support. The other 49 of the 121 graduated with PhDs or master's degrees. When she was 16, Dr Wong suffered from depression, but it was subsequently diagnosed as bipolar disorder. What kept her going was her Catholic faith, therapies and healthcare workers who never gave up on her. She was a senior peer support specialist at the Institute of Mental Health and left in 2021 to attend medical school. She said: 'I found myself deeply reflecting and praying about how best to serve others with this second lease of life. The answer that came to me, very clearly and consistently, was to become a doctor.' One major hurdle was taking the Medical College Admissions Test before entry into the Duke-NUS medicine programme after not taking a major science exam for about two decades. She said: 'For the first three months, biochemistry felt like reading a foreign language.' She spent most weekday nights and weekends studying while juggling her family responsibilities. Clinical rotations were also physically gruelling for her at first, but her stamina improved. 'There were times it felt almost impossible. But what made the difference was the unwavering support I received,' she said. She found hands-on assignments such as dissection work engaging. Her creative thinking skills also helped her approach clinical problems from fresh angles, sometimes offering perspectives that differed from those with more trad itional science train ing . Her ultimate goal is to establish an emergency mental health respite care centre in Singapore, a place where people can walk in and seek help, said Dr Wong. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, who was guest of honour at the event, congratulated the graduates and acknowledged that they had taken a longer path to become medical doctors, with some whose first degrees were unrelated to medicine or science. He encouraged them to be resilient and optimistic. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung taking a picture with Duke-NUS Medical School graduates on May 31. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Mr Ong said patient load is high in hospitals, night calls are long, and demanding patients may even file complaints against them with the Singapore Medical Council. He added: 'I want to assure you, this is normal and par for the course. These are the inherent challenges of the profession that you have chosen, and you can overcome (them).' He said Singapore is responding proactively to an ageing world population, medical technological advancements and a global shortage of healthcare workers, which demand healthcare transformation. Besides investing in community care systems and infrastructure, among other things, Singapore is also using more digital and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in healthcare, he said. Mr Ong added: 'They will not replace healthcare workers and the judgment of doctors, but they will remove tedious tasks, augment capabilities and create new opportunities.' He was joined by Duke-NUS dean Thomas C offman and Dr Amy Abernethy, co-founder of healthcare start-up Highlander Health. Another graduate, Dr Loh De Rong, 28, hopes to combine his engineering background and medical knowledge to improve healthcare systems and patient outcomes. He is among the first batch of graduates from a special programme where Duke-NUS offers conditional admissions to pre-university students from other fields to pursue medical studies. Under the programme, which was launched in 2017, interested students can first apply to take undergraduate studies at one of Duke-NUS' partner universities before going on to Duke-NUS Medical School to study medicine at a postgraduate le vel. They undergo undergraduate studies for three or four years, then spend four more years at the postgraduate medical sch ool. A graduate from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, Dr Loh studied computer science, focusing on machine learning and software engineering. He said: 'As medicine continues to evolve in the AI era, I hope to contribute to clinical AI projects and be well positioned to critically evaluate how such tools are applied in healthcare.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Rhyl Journal
6 days ago
- Rhyl Journal
Disabled student travels more than 850 miles across 10 days via public buses
Dan Bowhay, 22, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car. The final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) began his journey on January 26 and ended it on February 6, adding he did not travel on February 1 and 2 as part of the challenge due to reduced service frequencies over the weekend. He will soon showcase a 10-hour long film documentary to raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Mr Bowhay told the PA news agency. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. 'I've taken this genre and used it to kind of convey this journey I went on in this really slow format to show just how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus, showing all these delays in that long, drawn out way,' said Mr Bowhay. Mr Bowhay's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders, said Mr Bowhay. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Aged four, Mr Bowhay became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. Mr Bowhay's left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four and he has limited vision in his right eye after the lens was replaced to treat his cataracts. His condition means he struggles with his sight and depth perception, meaning he is unable to drive and is reliant on public transport for travel. Mr Bowhay was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. Of the 26 buses Mr Bowhay took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop, making travel more challenging for those with visual or hearing impediments. 'I had to spend a fair amount of time sort of looking out the window and trying to work out, actually, where I am, where I need to get off,' he said. Problems Mr Bowhay faced during the trip included bus delays of up to 40 minutes a day, waiting times of up to a several hours for connections and difficulties with scanning his pass, meaning he often had to present his pass to a driver. Mr Bowhay said he wants more investment to go into bus services and for the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film will be shown at AUB's summer show from July 10-21 and Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from July 31 to August 3.
Metro
6 days ago
- Metro
The important reason this student travelled 850 miles on public buses
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A photography student spent 10 days travelling more than 850 miles across England using public buses to highlight the challenges faced by disabled bus pass holders. Dan Bowhay, 22, used his disabled bus pass to travel from Land's End to Marshall Meadows, in Berwick-upon-Tweed near the Scottish border, a journey which takes just over nine hours by car. The final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth began his journey on January 26 and ended it on February 6. He wasn't able to travel on February 1 and 2 as part of the challenge due to reduced service frequencies over the weekend. And he made this journey for good reason – Dan will soon showcase a 10-hour-long film documentary to raise awareness about his 'limited freedoms' as a disabled bus pass user. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Dan said. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. 'I've taken this genre and used it to kind of convey this journey I went on in this really slow format to show just how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus, showing all these delays in that long, drawn-out way,' he added. Dan's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30 am to 11 pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Dan became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. His left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four, and he has limited vision in his right eye after the lens was replaced to treat his cataracts. His condition means he struggles with his sight and depth perception. He is unable to drive and is reliant on public transport for travel. Dan was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently, where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. More Trending Of the 26 buses Dan took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop. He also faced during the trip included bus delays of up to 40 minutes a day, waiting times of up to several hours for connections and difficulties with scanning his pass, meaning he often had to present his pass to a driver. Dan hopes more investment will go into bus services and that the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film will be shown at AUB's summer show from July 10-21 and Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from July 31 to August 3. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: 'When I die, who will look after my special needs son?' MORE: Deaf woman, 25, who took her own life was 'failed' by mental health services MORE: 'My life is a ticking time bomb – I worry about running out of days to make change'
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Disabled student films England bus pass trips to show challenges
A disabled photography student has travelled more than 850 miles on buses across England to highlight the challenges faced by disabled bus pass Bowhay, who is visually impaired, travelled for up to 10 hours a day, catching 26 buses over 10 days from Land's End to final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) has made a 10-hour film documentary about his says Between These Times is a "slow cinema" style film which aims to show "how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus". The 22-year-old, from Bishops Waltham, Hampshire, began his challenge on 26 January and completed it on 6 on his bus pass meant he could only travel after 09:00 on weekdays and could not enter Scotland or Bowhay, who developed cataracts in both eyes at the age of four, has limited vision in just one says moving out of home after university feels "unviable" due to a lack of public said: "I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible." During his trip, he said only three of the 26 buses had audio announcements, and one had visual said: "I had to spend a fair amount of time sort of looking out the window and trying to work out, actually, where I am, where I need to get off."Mr Bowhay said he experienced delays of up to 40 minutes, had difficulties scanning his pass, and sometimes waited several hours for is calling for more investment in bus services and for more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public film will be shown at AUB's summer show from 10 to 21 July and at Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from 31 July to 3 August. You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Disabled student's ‘agonisingly slow' journey across England using only public buses
A disabled photography student has travelled more than 850 miles across England by public bus, spotlighting the everyday obstacles faced by disabled bus pass holders. Dan Bowhay, 22, a final-year student at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), embarked on the 10-day trip from Land's End in Cornwall to Marshall Meadows in Berwick-upon-Tweed, near the Scottish border. The same journey would take just over nine hours by car. Beginning on January 26 and concluding on February 6, Bowhay paused his travels over the weekend of February 1 and 2 to avoid reduced service frequencies. He now plans to showcase a 10-hour documentary film to raise awareness about the "limited freedoms" experienced by disabled bus pass users. 'I am exploring what limited freedoms and independence this pass affords me,' Mr Bowhay told the PA news agency. During each leg of his journey, Mr Bowhay travelled up to 10 hours a day, including time in transit on a bus and waiting for a connection. His project, titled 'Between These Times', is a 'slow cinema' style film which emphasises long takes and observational shots. 'I've taken this genre and used it to kind of convey this journey I went on in this really slow format to show just how agonisingly slow it is to travel by bus, showing all these delays in that long, drawn out way,' said Mr Bowhay. Mr Bowhay's bus pass is granted under the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS), which provides free travel by bus in England to those who are disabled. The pass has its limitations as it is only valid on weekdays from 9.30am to 11pm, and is not available in Scotland or Wales, which causes issues for those who commute to work or live near borders, said Mr Bowhay. He originally wanted to travel from Land's End to John o' Groats, but was limited to finishing at the border as his bus pass does not work in Scotland. Aged four, Mr Bowhay became visually impaired when he developed cataracts in both eyes. Mr Bowhay's left eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic when he was four and he has limited vision in his right eye after the lens was replaced to treat his cataracts. His condition means he struggles with his sight and depth perception, meaning he is unable to drive and is reliant on public transport for travel. Mr Bowhay was inspired to create the film by the difficulties he had accessing public transport independently, where he grew up in Bishops Waltham, Hampshire. 'I attend a lot of hospital appointments at Southampton, and getting there independently is pretty impossible,' he said. He said moving home after university does not feel 'viable' as the lack of public transport in the area limits his independence. Of the 26 buses Mr Bowhay took during the 10-day journey, he said only three had audio and one had visual announcements to indicate the location of each stop, making travel more challenging for those with visual or hearing impediments. 'I had to spend a fair amount of time sort of looking out the window and trying to work out, actually, where I am, where I need to get off,' he said. Problems Mr Bowhay faced during the trip included bus delays of up to 40 minutes a day, waiting times of up to a several hours for connections and difficulties with scanning his pass, meaning he often had to present his pass to a driver. Mr Bowhay said he wants more investment to go into bus services and for the 'public attitude' to be more understanding of the challenges faced by disabled people using public transport. The film will be shown at AUB's summer show from July 10-21 and Aberrations Collective's Show in Copeland Gallery, London, from July 31 to August 3.
