Health tech internships showcase student entrepreneurship
This summer, Dr Gedeon Lemma worked with the University of Liverpool Careers and Employability team to launch a pilot internship scheme connecting students with some of the UK’s brightest health-tech start-ups. Student doctors Padrig, Vanisha and Ollie blew him away with their achievements.
Dr Gedeon Lemma is an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow and Honorary Clinical Fellow developing the Healthcare Technology and Design theme at the School of Medicine.
“I often ask myself, what does it take to prepare student doctors for 21st century medicine? With healthcare opening its doors to technological innovations, I believe it’s about time we expose student doctors to this brave new frontier.”
The four-week internships, sponsored by Santander, partnered with selected start-up companies, each founded by a clinician looking to solve a problem via an entrepreneurial route.
Dr Lemma explains, “One of our goals was to demonstrate that student doctors form a necessary part of the value chain in digital health. Medical education exposes students to real-world problems early on in their careers, and this makes them valuable assets as they provide the empathy and insight necessary for high quality patient-centred innovations.”
Student Doctor Padrig Kelly at Recourse AI
“Recourse AI (link) is a Manchester-based start-up who are redefining medical education through the creation of Artificial Intelligence-driven avatars for immersive patient consultation simulations. The aim of the internship was to develop an insight into how medical technology start-ups work; develop skills relating to medical education; and learn about entrepreneurship.
During the internship I worked on numerous projects both individually and within an interprofessional team. I provided detailed feedback on the current platform which included not only my experience of using Recourse AI as an educational tool but other aspects such as user experience and aesthetics.
By the end of the second week, I had authored original simulated scenarios and worked with the technology team to implement them onto the system.
The process of writing these original scenarios developed my ability to critique and use information from several sources to create original content that was rigorous and clinically accurate.
I worked with the team to enhance paediatric scenarios, including history taking and physical examination. Not only did this test my clinical knowledge but it also taught me how to work independently with great freedom and improved my time management skills.
I enjoyed working within a multi-disciplinary team to create a demonstrational video that was used during a presentation with senior NHS officials as part of a competitive process.
The internship gave me good insight into how a medical technology start-up is run and how clinicians play a vital role in bridging the gap between clinical healthcare and computer science.
I feel that I quickly integrated into a dynamic and hard-working team and that my contribution to ongoing progress was appreciated. At the end of the internship, I was offered part-time work and look forward to continuing to work with such a great team.”
Student Doctor Vanisha Mehta at Blum Health
“My summer internship with Blum Health (link) was an incredibly valuable experience - completely different to anything I had done before. I have always had an interest in working within the medical technology industry and wanted to gain experience within this field, both from a business and innovation perspective.
I thoroughly enjoyed the entrepreneurship and medical technology related modules as part of my Biomedical Engineering intercalated degree and wanted to put the skills I developed into practice.
The experience I gained from working as part of the Blum Health team was invaluable. I was briefed on current projects and given the opportunity to work on what interested me.
Hearing about all the projects and the strategy behind them was inspiring.
My main role was related to a digital health project, and key tasks included market analysis, supporting clinical insights and exploring current and future project opportunities, all of which are key components of the foundation of a successful innovation project.
I worked on several other projects and contributed to various team and business meetings. The variety of tasks enabled me to learn broadly about the medical technology industry, as well as the technicalities and challenges of running a health tech start-up.
The internship highlighted the importance of technology and innovation within healthcare as a method of constantly improving our healthcare system and enabled me to develop transferable skills which will be invaluable within the clinical setting.
Not only has it given me the foundations and inspiration to potentially pursue a career within this industry, but it has also changed my perspective on reducing the clinical impact of challenges currently faced in our healthcare system. After completing the internship, I wanted to continue contributing to the development of innovations that will transform the delivery of healthcare and I am currently volunteering at Blum Health to continue my work on these innovative projects.”
Student Doctor Ololade Akinboro at CardMedic
“This summer, I jumped at the opportunity to intern at CardMedic (link), a health tech start-up that specialises in creating digital clinical communication aides. Having been interested in healthcare innovation, an internship seemed the best way to get my foot in the door and experience the world of clinical entrepreneurship.
My key responsibilities included the creation and translation of clinical content as well as basic coding and market research. Eager to learn as much as I could, I hit the ground running. In my first week, I was brought up to speed with the product roadmap and sales pipeline.
There was flexibility to create clinical content in the field of my choice as well as fill in gaps in the content bank.
I was able to put my medical knowledge to use in the creation of Sexual Health, Pharmacy, and Obs & Gynae flashcards, to name a few.
I conducted market research to update the pitch dek and learnt valuable tips about creating attractive pitch decks, how to appeal to your investors, and the importance of providing tangible evidence to back up your claims.
By attending user-led focus groups, I learned the importance of listening to user feedback and considering their experience when implementing changes in the front-end design of a web app.
It was a privilege to be able to intern at a start-up founded by a female doctor, whose initial goal was simply to lend a helping hand during the height of the pandemic.
Her innovation has proven invaluable and even on my hospital rotations, I can see the gaps in healthcare communication that CardMedic can fill.
My internship at CardMedic exceeded my expectations. I was made to feel like a valued member of the team, and I learned so much in those four weeks. I have chosen to stay on in a voluntary role and keep contributing to CardMedic’s growing content bank. I am very appreciative of this experience that has broadened my view of the medical field and its vast career opportunities.”
Dr Lemma was seriously impressed by what the students were able to achieve in such a short time and hopes to continue to expand on these opportunities in summer 2022.
“I believe health tech internships are a great way to inspire students to become transformational leaders of the future, setting a precedent for a new cohort of doctors as innovators.”
The student doctors involved wish to thank Dr Gedeon Lemma, the University’s Careers and Employability department, Santander UK and the teams at Recourse AI, Blum Health and CardMedic for making the internships possible.
Discover more
- Read the student accounts in full on their blog posts on LinkedIn – Padrig’s story (link), Vanisha’s story (link) and Ololade’s story (link)
- Learn more about opportunities available via the University of Liverpool Careers and Employability team (link)
- Are you a Liverpool Student Doctor interested in health technology? Why not join the MedTech Society on the Guild website (link).
- Interested in exploring a career in medical technology, or have other career avenues you would like to look into? Browse through the careers support available to you at the School on the student intranet (link).