{"id":904,"date":"2009-11-23T15:32:58","date_gmt":"2009-11-23T14:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=904"},"modified":"2010-08-28T13:25:29","modified_gmt":"2010-08-28T12:25:29","slug":"siddhartha-yadav-reminisces-about-his-bmj-clegg-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2009\/11\/23\/siddhartha-yadav-reminisces-about-his-bmj-clegg-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"Siddhartha Yadav reminisces about his BMJ Clegg Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" The BMJ has now called for applications for the Clegg Scholarship 2010<\/a>. So, I think this might be the right time to talk about my own experiences as a Clegg Scholar and how I have fared since then.<\/p>\n

If you ask me to name one thing that Clegg Scholarship is all about, I can\u2019t. I might be tempted to say “medical journalism.” But confining it to this domain only would be an injustice to the multitude of opportunities that it provides.<\/p>\n

Honestly speaking, the Clegg Scholarship is what you make out of it. There is no fixed schedule, work description or a list of things to do, and this is what makes it interesting. It is up to you to choose what you want to do and where you want to be.<\/p>\n

The best part for me was learning to write news stories. It all started when Annabel<\/a> (Ferriman – BMJ news editor) asked me to write a news story on a Department for International Development (DFID<\/a>) report. I tried to go through the hundred or more pages of the report as quickly as I could which seemed like an impossible task.<\/p>\n

It was not long before Annabel noticed this and came to my rescue. She told me that I was only supposed to go through the press release while writing news and not through the whole report. Thank God!! More news stories followed and I truly enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

I wrote my first blog during my Clegg Scholarship. It took me quite some time to write my first one and David<\/a> (Payne – bmj.com editor) had to review it quite a few times before we could publish it. I still ask for his feedback on my blogs and he always gives me nice feedbacks without any reluctance.<\/p>\n

I also liked attending the manuscript meetings on Thursdays. It made me realise how minutely a research is scrutinised before it can be published. Is this original? Is the research question important? What about the methodology and statistics? And so forth. I had never thought that there could be so many dimensions to a single research that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

Every time I went to the manuscript meeting, I would prepare my own list of research that I thought were good ones. However, more often than not, somebody would point out huge flaws in them. After the manuscript meetings, I was always like “Damn!! Why could I not think of that?”<\/p>\n

The people at the BMJ are some of the best ones that I have ever known. In my part of the world I am used to being scolded by the seniors and being bossed around. To suddenly be amongst a group of friendly and modest people was a surprising but a welcome change for me.<\/p>\n

And this did not last during the office hours only. I was often invited to dinner or lunch by them. Annabel\u2019s husband, Fred, even showed me around a hospital and his work as an out of hours GP.<\/p>\n

Interacting with all these wonderful and talented people changed my own perceptions on a lot of issues. I still write occasionally to some of them and they write back. I am proud that I have friends at the BMJ. Giselle<\/a> was here in Kathmandu few months back and it was such a pleasure to meet her again. I hope I will be able to see others as well someday soon.<\/p>\n

It was not always about work. London is a wonderful city and you can never exhaust the list of places to visit. This was my first travel outside Nepal and India. I will always remember the numerous museums, galleries and parks that I visited. Through the BMJ, I even attended a lunch hosted inside the House of Lords<\/a>, which apparently was a big thing to do (I did not know this until afterwards).<\/p>\n

I have always believed in the principle that one step leads to another. Following my Clegg Scholarship at the BMJ, a whole world of opportunities was suddenly opened to me. I have worked as a research editor in an undergraduate journal, editor in chief of two different newsletters and editor of a book since then. My Clegg Scholarship experience helped me a lot to get into these positions and to work confidently.<\/p>\n

I can keep on writing about my “Clegg Scholar” days but I will stop for now. It has been one of the most memorable periods of my life.\u00a0 So if you are a medical student from outside the UK, I strongly suggest that you should apply. I hope the same is true for students from the UK as well, although I may not be the right person to suggest so. Good luck with your application!!<\/p>\n

Siddhartha Yadav<\/strong> is a former BMJ Clegg Scholar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The BMJ has now called for applications for the Clegg Scholarship 2010. So, I think this might be the right time to talk about my own experiences as a Clegg Scholar and how I have fared since then. If you ask me to name one thing that Clegg Scholarship is all about, I can\u2019t. I […]<\/p>\n

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