Almost 200 doctors ready to fight Covid-19 after graduating in an online ceremony

NUIG has welcomed its Medicine Class of 2020, all ready to join the frontline in the fight against Covid-19.

Almost 200 doctors will join Ireland’s health services in the next few weeks, after graduating in an online ceremony.

190 medical students studying in NUIG graduated in a virtual ceremony that was broadcast on Facebook yesterday.

The university brought forward the students’ final exams this year, in an effort to ensure that as many as possible would be fit to enter the workforce immediately.

The new set of graduates include students from the university’s Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, and Bachelor of Obstetrics courses.

In their ceremony, they were addressed by Dr Michael Ryan, who was born in Sligo and is now leading the World Health Organisation’s response to Covid-19.

According to student Alison Pentony, who spoke to RTÉ’s Liveline after graduating, Dr Ryan had some comforting advice for the new graduates —  “treat everyone with kindness, be open to the adversity you’re facing and just try and tackle it”.

The graduates are due to begin working in hospitals as interns from early May onwards.

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