The Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience / Student society

Doubleday Centre Student Society 

Current medical students at Manchester can get involved with the Centre’s activities by joining the Doubleday Student Society and becoming a National Student Ambassador.

Membership is free. If you’re interested in joining the Society, please contact us by emailing doubleday@manchester.ac.uk.

About the society

The first society of its kind in the country, the Doubleday Centre Student Society is managed entirely by medical students.

The Society believes that patients are more than just a set of symptoms to be cured, and that they are human beings with their own unique complexities.

It aims to encourage students to better experience and understand a wide range of patients’ needs, creating opportunities to improve communication skills, and ultimately enhance the care they deliver.

The Society works closely with the Doubleday Centre for Patient Experience to support its key strategic aim of continuously improving interactions between doctors, students, patients and the general public, while developing meaningful and truly equitable relationships.   

Our aims

  • Integrate partnership between medical students, the public and patients
  • Be the voice for underrepresented patients
  • Create opportunities to improve communication and care between students and the public
  • Encourage a wider-range exposure of patient experiences into the curriculum
  • Promote the Edwin Doubleday Fund and its national and new student award

National Student Ambassadors

National Student Ambassadors raise awareness of the work of both the Centre and the Society, and help us to organise events. You can find out more by reading a blog post by Calisha Allen, our current National Student Ambassador: Getting involved with patient experience as a medical student.

Our team

Chloe Ashton (Co-President)

As a third-year medical student at Manchester, one word I think represents me and the Doubleday Centre is inclusion. When I think of inclusion, I think of the NHS and the free service it offers to all members of society regardless of their differences, as well as Manchester, a vibrant city bursting with different walks of life.

Looking closer to home at my University, I think of a place which offers an access programme for students whose families haven’t been able to go to University. I remind myself of its Doubleday Centre, whose sole purpose is promote partnership between students, patients, the public and academic staff so that all are involved. But also, I think of the children I volunteered for in sheltered accommodation, leading group activities so they wouldn’t miss out growing up.

As a National Student Ambassador, something I feel very passionate about is to promote and always include the student voice and patient voice in improving patient experience within the NHS, starting at my very own medical school.

Rachael O’Brien (Co-President)

I am a third-year medical student at Manchester. I have always been interested in the relationship between doctors, patients and the public, and working with the Doubleday Centre will allow me to delve further into this partnership.

I think it’s really important that the public have a role in medical education, and working with the Doubleday Centre will allow us to improve the patient-doctor relationship for the future.

Aryana Jizan (Secretary)

Being an ambassador for the Doubleday Centre and helping to establish the first Doubleday Centre Student Society is a privilege. I believe, consistent with Edwin Doubleday’s philosophy, that patients are not just a series of symptoms that need fixing, but individual human beings that need healing and have their own unique circumstances.

The Doubleday Centre Student Society aims to promote and achieve this philosophy. We hope that through raising awareness of what the Doubleday Centre does as well as furthering the interaction and partnership between the public, patients and students through events, webinars and lectures, patient experience will be brought to the forefront and patients who are often underrepresented will be given a voice.

I’m thrilled to be a part of this journey!

Hanan Nur (Treasurer)

Medicine – in education and in practice – goes far beyond just the memorisation of scientific data and symptoms of disease. The world of healthcare is an ever-changing one, yet it still remains true that at the heart of medicine, is the people – real people with real stories, where understanding cannot simply be developed from a textbook, but is formed through experience.

The Doubleday Centre Student Society works to bring patients back to the forefront of medical education and shine a light on those who may often be underrepresented.

I believe that the work undertaken by the Society is essential as it recognises that a medical student is not only a student of science, but also a student of humanities and appreciates the delicate interplay between these two aspects when providing quality patient care.

Matt Saint (Events Organiser and Inclusion Officer)

I am a third-year medical student at Manchester with special interests in medical education, communications skills and the patient experience, with particular emphasis on LGBT+ patients.

Prior to studying Medicine, I completed a BA in Theatre Studies and an MSc in Management and Marketing at the University of Lancaster, and I have worked in theatre since 2013. I was also Vice President (Equality, Welfare & Diversity) and a trustee at Lancaster University Students’ Union from 2011 to 2012.

Calisha Allen (Doubleday Centre National Ambassador)

Calisha graduated from the medical school in 2020, but continues to play a key role raising awareness about the work of the Doubleday Centre among the student body. She helps to organise debates and activities with our national affiliates, and is continuing to support the development of the Doubleday Student Society. Centre. Read a blog post by Calisha about her work.

Useful links

  • Scrubbed Up: A student-led online forum for prospective, undergraduate, UK and international medical students.
  • David Nott Foundation: Providing surgeons and medical professionals working in the most hostile environments with the skills and the confidence to save more lives.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the Society, you can get in touch by emailing doubleday@manchester.ac.uk.

 

The University of Manchester