medicine
Neda Hasan (DH 2008)
Harriet Edgar (Wells DH 1995)
WHAT CAREER DID YOU SEE YOURSELF IN
WHAT CAREER DID YOU SEE YOURSELF IN WHEN YOU WERE 16?
WHEN YOU WERE 16? I always knew that
At 16, I wanted to be a Forensic Pathologist (like someone out of ‘Silent Witness’)
it was going to be either economics or medicine, and because I was a peopleperson and a caregiver, I focused on medicine.
A LEVELS: Biology, Chemistry and Physics UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE: Medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’
A LEVELS: Chemistry, Biology,
CAREER PATH: After medical school, I did three six-month
Economics, Maths and AS Level Physics
House Officer placements before going to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst for military training to be a professionally qualified officer. Following six months of training, I was posted to an infantry regiment in North Yorkshire, the 1st Battalion King’s Regiment as their Medical Officer. During this two-year posting I went on an operational tour to Iraq for six months in Operation Telic.
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE: Medicine at
Imperial College, London CAREER PATH: After completing my medical studies,
I spent two years at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and Wexham Park Hospital as a Foundation Doctor, moving around departments including adult medicine, neonatology, A&E and surgery. In August 2016, I moved back to the Royal Berkshire as a Core Medical Trainee, which will lead to me becoming a Medical Registrar in two years, and then a Consultant five years after that. WORDS OF ADVICE: There is a lot of negative press
regarding the NHS these days. Morale is at its lowest, and it can sometimes feel disheartening but don’t ever lose sight of why you chose medicine. There are not many jobs where you can drive home thinking that you have saved the life of a tiny baby or made a real difference to the quality of an elderly person’s life.
I then continued my medical training in anaesthesia as an Anaesthetic Senior House Officer at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey and then an Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Senior House Officer at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. After completing my primary anaesthetic exams, I continued as an Anaesthetic and Intensive Care Specialty Registrar (SpR) in the Wessex region. Following more exams, five years of Anaesthetic SpR training, and having three children(!), I received my Certificate of Completion of Training in May 2015 and took up the post of Consultant Anaesthetist at Salisbury Foundation Trust hospital and have been there ever since. CURRENT OCCUPATION: As a Consultant Anaesthetist, I spend
most days in the operating theatre reviewing patients before their operations and administering their anaesthetic during the operation. I also have a role as an Obstetric Anaesthetist providing pain relief for women in labour and anaesthesia for women having a surgical or instrumental delivery. As a Consultant, I am involved in training Junior Doctors and medical students and have a role in service development. WORDS OF ADVICE: If you are interested in Science, then
“Because I was a people-person and a caregiver, I focused on medicine.”
Medicine is a great career. There are a lot of exams to take so you need to be able to cope with exam pressure. There are many career options after completing a medical degree, not just the obvious ones. It is a fantastic, varied and rewarding career which I would highly recommend.
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