A NURSE has embarked upon a new career path after beginning a degree scholarship through a university.

Sarah Knowles, a 27-year-old trainee doctor from Darwen, was one of the first two people accepted onto the Bachelor Medicine Bachelor Surgery (MBBS) scholarship programme.

It is aimed at students from the East Lancashire and Cumbria regions.

The former St Wilfrid’s Church of England Academy pupil is three months into the course on a scholarship programme created by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in partnership with East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) and North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust (NCUHT).

The scholarships are part of a wider, long-term UCLan strategy to attract and retain doctors to NHS employment in the region, in response to the issues faced in both Lancashire and Cumbria relating to attracting and retaining health professionals.

Having previously worked alongside doctors in the intensive care unit at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Sarah said she felt inspired to pursue her ambition of becoming one herself.

Sarah said: “Medicine is challenging and constantly evolving, and becoming a doctor is always a dream I’ve had, having always found myself being attracted to the more clinical side of nursing.

“When I saw the scholarship opportunity at UCLan it was perfect – ordinarily to do a graduate entry programme it would mean moving away from my family and friends. There was also the financial aspect to consider.

“I couldn’t believe my luck when I was accepted onto the programme. While there was a fear that I wouldn’t get in, I also wondered if I’d left it too late to start a new career from the bottom, especially becoming a fully registered doctor.

She added: “Studying at UCLan means I can commute to Preston from Darwen easily and I can continue to work as an agency nurse alongside my studies. I’ve also made lots of new friends from the UK and around the world, everyone is really supportive of each other.

“What I would say to anyone considering applying to study medicine is to just go for it. You never know what might happen, so you can’t let fear put you off following your passion and it’s never too late.”