A former Royal Navy medic and University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Physician Associate graduate has received the Olu Orugun prize.

James Moffatt received the award for his commitment to academic studies plus his dedicated approach to patients while on clinical placement.

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The prestigious award was created in honour of Professor Olu Orugun who worked at West Cumberland Hospital and passed away in August 2017.

A spokesperson for UCLan said: “James is a great example of Professor Orugun’s philosophy, which was to encourage the development of a workforce made up of professionals from a variety of clinical backgrounds, helping to address the issues of recruitment and retention of medical staff in Cumbria.”

Prior to studying at UCLan, James worked as a Medic in the Royal Navy for nine years with deployments overseas in South America and the Falkland Islands, as well as working on disaster relief and humanitarian missions.

Commenting on winning the award James said: “Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to meet Dr Orugun.

“Before receiving the award, I had read about his achievements and how he was a firm supporter of the Physician Associate role, so it means more to me that the award is named after him, such a caring and compassionate doctor/professor helping the physician associate role grow and develop.

“The area in medicine I enjoyed the most during my placements with UCLan was primary care. I loved the one on one interaction and the relationships I developed with the patients.”

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Jane Rutt- Howard, Principal Lecturer at UClan’s School of Medicine, said: “It has been both a pleasure and honour to have James as part of a great cohort of students.

“He is going to make an outstanding Physician Associate and will be a notable ambassador for this type of role in the future.”

Since graduating from UCLan, James has secured a job as a Physician Associate with a GP practice in Derbyshire.

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What do you think of James’ award? Let us know in the comments.