The Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust has helped a number of the island’s medical professionals to obtain or upgrade their qualifications.

For audiologist, James Dernie, the Trust has supported him all the way through his professional journey with its educational grants.

James is part of the award-winning team at Noble’s Hospital’s audiology department, led by consultant audiologist, Dr Stephen Griffiths. But he did not set out to be an audiologist.

He says: ‘I had a passion for music and I did a music technology and sound design degree at university.

‘I came back to the island and started working at the hospital to pay off my student debts and I was approached by Stephen: he knew I had a passion for the sound side of things and he asked if I was interested in audiology.’

James started in the department as a receptionist and then decided he would like to qualify as an audiologist.

Being based in the island makes it a bit harder to undertake such training but a grant from the Trust helped him to complete a three-year distance learning course with Queen Margaret’s University in Edinburgh, studying at night after work.

Once he had completed his qualification he moved onto the clinical side and did some in-house training with Dr Griffiths. Then he decided he wanted to further his qualifications and once again the Trust was there to help and he was able to enrol for another distance leaning course, this time a Masters at Aston University.

He says: ‘So my rota for the week was working through the day, then I would come home and put the kids to bed and spend the next three hours studying, pretty much Monday to Sunday.’

His final year was spent writing his dissertation which he says was ‘probably my favourite part’.

‘The dissertation was on “communication partners” which I’m really interested in. Rather than looking at the person with the hearing loss it’s about looking at their communication partners and the strategies that they put in place living with people with a hearing loss.

‘It’s quite a big buzz word in the UK at the moment because there’s so little actual evidence out there or research into the topic but, as we know, communication is a two way thing.’

James achieved a good mark for his dissertation and the results of his research are now being shared with another study in the UK.

He says: ‘It’s great that there are these long-distance study opportunities. I couldn’t have done it without that, and the help with the funding from the Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust has just been fantastic. I couldn’t have got to where I am now without it.’

Malcolm Clague, a trustee of the Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust, said: ‘The skills that James has acquired, through six years of studying in his own time, as well as his contribution to the science of hearing through his Masters, will benefit Manx residents and others for decades to come.

‘James epitomises what the Trust is seeking to achieve through the awarding of education grants.’