Salma Abdolgader is a medical graduate, with two years’ experience working in general medicine.

She took time out from her career to raise a family, and is now working part-time as a support worker for Refugee Women of Bristol, a local charity organisation providing support and services to refugee women, and as a health worker for her local GP.

While balancing this with family life, she’s also studying for an MSc in Translational Cardiovascular Medicine, an exciting new distance-learning Master’s offered by the University of Bristol.

“I found out about the programme via the university’s website and thought that it would be a good way of returning to my medical career,” she said.

The programme is delivered through a dynamic e-learning environment, where lectures and seminars are provided online, with excellent support from teaching and administrative staff.  Salma is able to study whenever she wants, viewing the lectures and fitting the various home study tasks around her daily routine of work and family life.

As a distance-learning student, Salma enjoys the theoretical components of the programme, and particularly appreciates the well structured e-lectures, videos, tutorials and tests, not to mention the support from teaching staff, readily on-hand to clarify concepts and answer questions.

“I did find using library resources a bit challenging,” admits Salma. She goes on to explain: “I used the library in Libya to find references for research – which meant making do with a limited number of journals. I’m not used to accessing extensive databases over the internet or searching via multiple search engines.

I need support to develop better online research skills using key works and combo searches, and help to understand how research parameters provide search results that are neither exhaustive nor limited. However, the library staff, tutors and the course director are always supportive, happy to help and answer my questions."

Salma hopes that the programme will help her obtain a clinical attachment with a medical department, possibly in cardiovascular medicine. From there she will decide whether to prepare for the PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board) test – the main route by which international medical graduates demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to practice medicine in the UK, or a clinical degree.

“I think it would be a good programme for qualified professionals already working in the field of cardiovascular medicine. Prospective students do need to be aware, however, that it involves a considerable time commitment and they need to be very sure that it will suit their lifestyles.”

For Salma, the best parts of the programme so far are revisiting basic science with new and updated scientific knowledge.  “I find this so valuable, as I have been out of medicine for a while due to family commitments. Being able to get up to speed with the latest developments in science has provided me with a solid foundation, from which I can develop a specialism in translational cardiovascular medicine, and I feel much more confident about returning to medicine as a result.”