Dr Nyoni is an asset to our practice

Dr Michael Nyoni is working at the Hereward Practice on a six-month placement having taken an unusual route into medicine.

He was born in Zimbabwe and educated in Botswana before studying in Russia. He had three years of pre-clinical training learning Russian in order to undertake medical training in hospitals and primary care settings.

He left Russia when the war in Ukraine started and he is now on the GP International Induction programme which provides a supported pathway for overseas qualified GPs to safely join NHS general practice in the UK.

Hereward is his clinical placement, and he is being mentored by the GP Partners, particularly Dr Annete Moyo, who gives him regular training sessions and debriefs.

Dr Nyoni said: ‘I love the team that I work with – very nice people and very good patients as well. It is a good diverse patient group so I get to learn a lot. I had a consultation with a patient and I didn’t know how to use the translation service so I asked if she spoke Russian – she was from Lithuania and she said she would prefer it if I could speak Russian so then we went on with the conversation, she was really happy and I was happy. I just thought that was a really good opportunity to practice!

‘The patients in the northern hemisphere are pretty similar clinically, so you get similar diseases and syndromes here. Because Botswana has more rural area and practices so it is not underfunded, it is under resourced and so I didn’t have all the resources that I have to use here on the NHS.

‘The clinical work is definitely what I wanted. It is a really good way to get into it because I get this supervised period where I am still trying to figure out little things so this is just what I needed to transition well and hopefully be a very safe doctor in my future practice.

‘I did a minor surgical procedures course last week and I am hoping to hone into that. We do have a minor surgical procedures department at the Hereward so I am hoping that I can get in on some minor surgeries, learn more and hopefully develop that aspect of my skills.'

Denika Wilmot, Operations and Compliance Manager at Hereward, said: ‘Dr Nyoni is a great asset to the practice. Since Dr Moyo has become a Partner she has a big interest in sponsoring other GPs to come over. She tried really hard to get Dr Nyoni here and it is a blessing in disguise. He is great. The patients love him, the staff love him and we are just looking forward to seeing how he progresses.’

Listen to a podcast with Dr Nyoni

Published: Jul 27, 2026