STUDENTS looking to pursue a career within the medical industry were given an insight into what to expect thanks to the North Hampshire Medical Fund.

The charity recently held its first medical careers seminar at the Ark Conference Centre in a bid to inspire and inform pupils from across Hampshire.

More than 70 Year 11 and Sixth Form students from across the county attended the seminar which help to raise a total of £3,227 for the charity.

At the seminar professor of neurology and associate dean for education at University Hospital Southampton, Karen Morrison, provided guidance on the medical school application process, and Philippa Aslet, associate director of nursing at Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust spoke about the role of nurses, working in the NHS and a nurse’s career path.

The money raised from the event will go towards the charity purchasing a Nuclear Medicine SPECT/CT Scanner for Radiology at Basingstoke hospital.

The scanner is primarily used for cancer diagnosis, pre-op breast cancer surgery, pulmonary embolism diagnosis, staging diseases and looking for secondary bone lesions and cancers.

The Nuclear Medicine department at Basingstoke Hospital currently has a sole gamma camera which is now technologically obsolete due to its age – 17 years (expected life was 10 years). Only a limited range of examinations can be undertaken with this old technology.

To fine out more about the work the North Hampshire Medical Fund does and to support them visit nhmedicalfund.org.