Meet Oxford Medicine alumna Dr Gina Hadley recognised for her pioneering work in student support
Since graduating from Graduate-Entry Medicine in 2008 (Harris Manchester College), Dr Gina Hadley has been involved in supporting medical students and promoting an interdisciplinary and fundamentally human practice of medicine. The broad and impactful initiatives developed and pioneered by Dr Hadley to improve the training of Oxford medical students have been recognised with a nomination to the 2026 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for student support.
Dr Hadley focuses on preparing medical students for the real-life complexities and challenges they will encounter throughout their career. She promotes students’ awareness of their own human sensibilities, particularly when faced with patient suffering and death. Gina led the team behind the ‘Diversity in Death and Dying’ medical programme (Winner of the 2025 Teaching and Learning Vice-Chancellor’s Award), where medical students are taken on a guided trail to reflect on topics of death and dying through works of the Ashmolean Museum. Dr Hadley is now in discussion with other leading universities on how to replicate it in their settings. Alumni interested in having a glimpse into this experience can access an adapted self-guided version available for all members of the public at the Ashmolean.
Dr Hadley’s nomination also recognises several other initiatives that are broadening the way medical students are supported at Oxford. These include an Oxford University Hospitals programme in which medical students train as healthcare assistants, policy guidance for students who become parents during their course, and the co-founding of an interdisciplinary network for humanities teaching in UK medical schools.
Dr Hadley’s support also extends beyond the medical students. Since 2023 she has delivered the ‘Love Your Brain’ initiative, providing age-appropriate discussions on brain health to children at schools in areas of higher socio-economic disadvantage of Oxfordshire as well as other outreach activities in local schools to widen participation to university, particularly medicine.
We are delighted to celebrate Gina’s nomination and the impact of her work on current and future generations of Oxford medical students. We are also exploring ways for alumni to engage with some of her initiatives and hope to share further opportunities in due course.