Aya Tawfik

Dr Aya Tawfik is a fully GMC-registered doctor with a licence to practise, with a strong clinical background and a deep commitment to professional development, high standards of medical practice, and patient-centred care. Her medical journey reflects consistent dedication, academic achievement, and a genuine passion for medicine, particularly psychiatry.

She passed the PLAB 2 examination with a score of 162, successfully completing all 16 stations with one of the highest scores achieved in the exam. This accomplishment demonstrates her strong clinical knowledge, communication skills, and understanding of GMC and NHS standards, including good medical practice, teamwork, and safe patient care. Passing PLAB marked an important milestone, enabling her to begin her medical career in the UK.

She graduated in December 2019 from the Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, one of Egypt’s most prestigious medical schools, achieving an overall grade of Very Good with honours. She completed her internship at Ain Shams University Hospitals, a large tertiary centre providing comprehensive medical and surgical services. During this period, she rotated through all major medical and surgical specialties, gaining extensive exposure to acute, chronic, and emergency cases across all age groups. This experience helped her develop strong clinical judgement and practical skills.

Following her internship, she pursued her long-standing interest in psychiatry by training and working as a resident doctor (SHO) in general adult mental health at one of Egypt’s largest mental health hospitals. Her interest in psychiatry stems from a lifelong engagement with psychology, psychotherapy, and the scientific and philosophical foundations of mental health. Clinical practice further strengthened her passion for the specialty and shaped her long-term professional goals.

She has also worked as a General Practitioner in primary care, managing a wide spectrum of medical conditions and presentations. This role enhanced her ability to assess acutely unwell patients, initiate appropriate investigations, and manage medical emergencies in accordance with clinical guidelines.

In 2023, she commenced her career in the NHS, working in general adult psychiatry at a mental health hospital in Berkshire. This role provided valuable insight into multidisciplinary team (MDT) working, patient flow, risk assessment, care planning, and quality improvement within the NHS. She actively participates in MDT meetings and collaborates closely with consultants, nurses, psychologists, and allied healthcare professionals.

Over the past two years, she has been consistently working towards career progression in psychiatry. She regularly studies psychiatric literature, remains up to date with pharmacology and clinical guidelines, and applies this knowledge in daily practice. This has enabled her to develop broad experience in psychiatric diagnosis, mental state examinations, risk assessments, and prescribing. She is actively preparing for the MRCPsych examinations and has completed several requirements for higher specialty training, including participation in psychotherapy, completion of ECT training, and experience in Mental Health Act assessments and recommendations.

She has written tribunal reports and attended hearings, worked in PICU and place-of-safety environments, and undertaken out-of-hours shifts where she acted as a team leader with responsibility for multiple acute wards, including general adult, older adult, PICU, and learning disability services. Throughout her practice, she maintains strong awareness of her limitations, seeks senior advice appropriately, liaises effectively with multidisciplinary colleagues, and consistently prioritises team-based decision-making to ensure safe patient care.

She strongly identifies as a team player and values collaborative working environments, taking pride in contributing positively to team dynamics.

She has a strong interest in medical education, audit, quality improvement, and research. She regularly delivers teaching sessions to medical students and participates in educational and health-screening initiatives. She has also contributed to multiple audits and research projects as part of multidisciplinary teams.

She is adaptable, resilient, and emotionally aware, with experience managing stressful and emotionally challenging clinical situations while maintaining professionalism and empathy. She highly values teamwork and consistently supports colleagues in demanding environments to ensure safe and compassionate patient care.

Outside of medicine, she is a professional Arabic singer and a ballet and contemporary jazz dancer. She strongly believes in maintaining a healthy work–life balance, recognising that engagement in music, sport, and creative activities supports stress management, motivation, and long-term wellbeing, which she considers essential for effective and compassionate medical practice.

She remains committed to continuous learning, ethical practice, and meaningful contribution to healthcare teams, while striving to develop both as a psychiatrist and as an individual.