Twenty-four newly-qualified junior doctors have started their roles at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust several months early.
Final year medical students saw their exams and planned overseas elective placements disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
The General Medical Council agreed alternative forms of final assessment and said that many students could begin work as junior doctors three months before the traditional start date in early August.
Eight started at Mid Essex, six started at Basildon and 10 started at Southend.
None of the early starters are working on Covid-19 wards.
The Trust’s director of medical education, Dr Johnson Samuel, said: “It is a massive privilege to have them here. They have made a huge sacrifice to come in on the frontline and they are getting a head start after all those years of study.
“Having such enthusiastic and selfless junior doctors coming through the system has further boosted my admiration for our young colleagues and it is a privilege and pleasure to work alongside them.”
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