Dr Majd Protty

Originally from Birmingham, England - Wales Clinical Academic Track (WCAT) trainee Majd Protty, says working and training in Wales meets all his needs - academic, clinical and personal. He plans to stay in Wales and progress his career in clinical-academic cardiology.

He explains:

“I grew up in Birmingham and stayed there to do my medical training as it was familiar, and I liked being in a big city. However, after I finished medical school in 2013, I moved to Wales because it has an attractive academic foundation programme and catered for my interests in cardiology.

“I decided to stay on in Wales after my foundation years, because it offers an outstanding run-through academic clinical specialty programme – the WCAT scheme. This programme is unique to Wales in that it carries trainees through core and specialty training and provides funding for a PhD to combine both academic and clinical activities. This was really appealing to me because of my desire to progress to be a leader in academic medicine.

“The structure of this unique training programme allowed me to spend 80% of my time working in clinical practice across hospitals in Wales, and 20% at Cardiff University. This allowed me to pursue my research interests with world-class groups which led to the award of a prestigious Wellcome Trust GW4-CAT fellowship to fund my PhD which I successfully completed with Cardiff University in 2021. The mix of academic and clinical training essentially means that I’m a clinician who brings science from the bench to the bedside and there’s never a dull moment in that.

“My current training programme will take me through my post-doctoral career up to consultant/senior lecturer level with dedicated research time. The academic community in Wales is very supportive and encouraging. My plan is to progress to be an academic cardiologist taking on a leading role in Wales for clinical-academic cardiovascular medicine.

“The opportunities are endless, and the support is second to none. I feel very nurtured by both my academic and clinical colleagues, who teach and guide me to help me achieve what I want to achieve. I also get a huge amount of support from the HEIW Medical Deanery, which has been very flexible and approachable in allowing me to tailor my training scheme and placements to my needs.

“Outside of work, I feel there is so much to do in Wales. Cardiff and Swansea offer great city life with the bonus of incredible beaches and mountains on their doorstep. In my time off, I venture out to Tenby, the Gower or the Brecon Beacons to spend time with the family away from the hustle and bustle of daily commitments. There really is something for everyone in Wales.”