Medicine had always been on my radar as a potential career choice, and I chose my A-Levels accordingly. Although I enjoyed a week’s work experience in a GP Surgery during Sixth Form, the satisfaction I got from studying Biology and Chemistry meant that I decided to apply for science degrees rather than medicine.
My time at university gave me a sound understanding of physiology and cell biology, and a close friendship group, including several medical students. By the time Finals were approaching I had ruled out the possibility of doing a PhD, but knew that I wanted to do something which met the clichéd criterion of ‘using science to help people.’
My shorter-term goal was adventure, and with seven months work and travelling in South America arranged, and working in temp jobs to save up for this, I had time to think in more detail about career possibilities.
I arranged work experience with a Macmillan dietician. This opened my eyes to the different teams working in a hospital, and during a conversation with a junior doctor on the ward, he told me that if I was interested in every aspect of a patient’s care, I should consider becoming a doctor.
A few days later that advice popped back into my head, and I realised that medicine was what I had always wanted to do - I had just been sidetracked by other interests. My medic friends were less surprised by this than I was, commenting that it explained why I had always been so interested in hearing their tales of life as a medical student and reading their copies of the BMJ!