Dr Gift Iheme: The first-year international GP trainee already making waves in medicine

Step into the world of Gift Iheme, an aspiring first-year GP trainee who's trading homegrown routes for a passion for patient-centred care.

With a fresh medical schooling in Nigeria, Gift is diving headfirst into the fast-paced world of training on unfamiliar ground. But don’t let her new surroundings fool you – this young doctor is already making big strides…

In this exclusive feature, we caught up with Gift as she reflected on the ups and downs of her first 12 months in training and shared her aspirations for what promises to be an exciting future.

“I spent six years at the University of Nigeria,” Gift explained, “but I realised that I wanted to come over to the UK for better opportunity and started the path towards this by completing the necessary exams.”

With an initial desire of pursuing obstetrics and gynaecology as a career, she eventually made a life-changing decision to leave her home country – firstly alone – and make a 4,600-mile cross continent journey in the summer of 2023.

“My husband was working as a radiologist in Saudi Arabia at the time, and I kept my baby at home for a few weeks with my mother-in-law while I sorted out accommodation and nursery.

“It was a tough transition moving to Nottingham, but we quickly adapted, especially when my husband joined us in the UK to work in the radiology department in Birmingham.

“I started as a Trust grade doctor in Nottingham but made enquiries and found that GP training would give me more time to spend with my family.”

After enjoying a taster week shadowing at a local GP practice, Gift’s decision was set, and she moved to Shropshire to be closer to her partner and start a hospital placement at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Three months went by where Gift enjoyed the reward of patient consultations and helping the community before a break for maternity leave.  Fast-forward to today, she has recently returned to work after welcoming her second child to the world! Gift is now determined to reintegrate herself into her training and is optimistic for what’s to come.

“I couldn’t praise Lead Employer more for the support they provided to help me return to work.

“I’m looking forward to my upcoming rotations which we’re naturally disrupted due to my time away. Moving forward I would really love a taste as an out of hours GP. I would like to be at A&E departments as well, not just seeing patients in the office every day.

“I’m also interested in working in a joint emergency service (JET) team who specialise in treating people in their own homes to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.”

For those soon to be embarking on your training journeys this upcoming August and September, Gift wishes you the best of luck and has some advice to help you navigate through this period.

“Getting involved in GP training is one of the best decisions I've made so far, and I believe it will be the best decision for so many other people as well. However, whatever your speciality, I wish you well and encourage you to embrace every challenge and opportunity.”

Check out more trainee features here and be sure to get in touch if you want to share your story. We’re always open to hear about your training journey! Email: lead.employercommunications@sthk.nhs.uk.