New Year Honours for Dr Azeem Alam
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust junior doctor Azeem Alam has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Azeem has been recognised for his services to medical education and as a junior doctor in his former role at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was appointed to one of the inaugural undergraduate medical education fellow posts at Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, and has been an integral part of the medical education team since October 2020.
He is also nominated for his achievements as co-founder of BiteMedicine, an online medical education company committed to bringing high quality teaching and support to medical students all over the world. During lockdown, when teaching was suspended, BiteMedicine provided critical learning to 15,000 students worldwide free of charge, becoming one of the UK’s largest medical education providers. Azeem and the team improvised interactive and innovative ways to engage with students, including quizzes and offering support during difficult times.
Once lockdown restrictions are eased Azeem will be invited to attend a palace garden party to receive his honour. He commented: “When I first received news of the award I thought it was a scam!. It’s a huge honour to be recognised for my work during Covid, and I would like to share the accolade with my colleagues . ”
Chief Executive of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust Ben Travis said: “We are very proud of Azeem and congratulate him on this well deserved award in the field of medical education. He has worked so hard on behalf of students and patients during Covid and is a great support to colleagues.”
As well as his work with patients and support to students, Azeem is also a talented songwriter. Prior to joining the Trust he spent a year in LA writing and creating music. However, he missed contact with patients and decided to continue with his clinical and academic career in medicine. He still writes music in his spare time as a creative outlet, which he credits with being a great stress reliever.