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Motivation & Insight into Medicine 7
If you were the Secretary of State for health, what two changes would you make?
Average Candidate Response
I would increase investment in preventative care (eg. vaccinations) as well as encouraging further research into cancer treatments, given the increasing global prevalence of cancers.
Excellent Candidate Response
If I was the Secretary of State for health, the two issues I would tackle the deficit in the number of nurses working for the NHS, and the lack of funding available for mental health services. There is currently a significant shortfall of nurses, which not only impacts the quality of patient care because of the pivotal role nurses play in attending to patients’ needs, but also for the reason that less qualified staff, such as healthcare assistants, have been enlisted to help meet the demand in care. I believe that a way to rectify this would be to encourage more young people to enter the nursing profession through launching nationwide initiatives; this could be achieved by providing pupils with work experience in a healthcare environment, for example, to stimulate an interest in this field. Additionally, reinstating funding for nurses in training should also be considered.
The second change I would implement would be to increase the proportion of funding that goes to treating mental health conditions. Despite there being a dramatic rise in the prevalence of mental health disorders, NHS funding has not been able to meet this demand, with many young people in particular being unable to receive the necessary treatment. Therefore, I would utilise such funding to increase the number of mental health clinics across the UK, and ensure that staff had the appropriate training to identify and diagnose patients.
I would increase investment in preventative care (eg. vaccinations) as well as encouraging further research into cancer treatments, given the increasing global prevalence of cancers.
Excellent Candidate Response
If I was the Secretary of State for health, the two issues I would tackle the deficit in the number of nurses working for the NHS, and the lack of funding available for mental health services. There is currently a significant shortfall of nurses, which not only impacts the quality of patient care because of the pivotal role nurses play in attending to patients’ needs, but also for the reason that less qualified staff, such as healthcare assistants, have been enlisted to help meet the demand in care. I believe that a way to rectify this would be to encourage more young people to enter the nursing profession through launching nationwide initiatives; this could be achieved by providing pupils with work experience in a healthcare environment, for example, to stimulate an interest in this field. Additionally, reinstating funding for nurses in training should also be considered.
The second change I would implement would be to increase the proportion of funding that goes to treating mental health conditions. Despite there being a dramatic rise in the prevalence of mental health disorders, NHS funding has not been able to meet this demand, with many young people in particular being unable to receive the necessary treatment. Therefore, I would utilise such funding to increase the number of mental health clinics across the UK, and ensure that staff had the appropriate training to identify and diagnose patients.