MY MEDICAL JOURNEY HAZEL WATCHORN

MY MEDICAL JOURNEY

BY HAZEL WATCHORN (07-09)

I came to study at RGS for Sixth Form because I wanted to be a doctor. I was concerned about achieving the A Level grades required at the comprehensive school I was currently at and where the girls’ sport had fizzled out several years prior due to a lack of participation.

Ihad labelled myself as too geeky, bookish and quiet and found that everything was much easier at school if I kept to myself. It may have been RGS’s reputation for the sciences which drew me to apply but what I found was so much more than I expected. I found I wasn’t the silent student in the back any more but free to debate with teachers in history lessons and join every sport team and extra-curricular activity I could. In short, I was able to reinvent myself.

I was surprised to be chosen as Head Girl for my Upper Sixth year. Fulfilling this role taught me a lot about projecting confidence and how to stand up for myself during public speaking or trying to keep some of the younger students approximately in line.

Having belief that my opinion counts and the courage to try new things (helping direct a house play taught me how to herd cats…) has stayed with me since I have left school. This has helped me rise to the challenge of being President of my university mountaineering club and act as liaison between junior doctors and senior management during the COVID-19 crisis.

Medicine has been an interesting journey for me: after completing my A Levels at RGS I went to medical school at Cardiff University for five years before moving back up to Sheffield to complete foundation training. I have not taken a traditional route through training and have changed my mind about my career goals and specialties several times. I used to be worried about this, thinking that I should be more driven and focused, but I have come to discover that all experience in medicine is useful and it really is the journey that is enjoyable rather than the destination.

During my foundation years I completed my post graduate diploma of mountain medicine which opened my eyes to some of the non-traditional careers available to medics and allowed me to meet like-minded healthcare professionals from all over the world.

In the two years out between foundation and specialty training I was fortunate to put theory into practice, working as a GP trainee in rural New Zealand before volunteering as an expedition medic leader for Raleigh International. This involved rebuilding water pipes in Nepal post the 2015 earthquake and trekking with volunteers through the foothills of the Himalayas. I returned to the Everest region of Nepal in 2018 as part of a team of four doctors

I have not taken a traditional route through training and have changed my mind about my career goals and specialties several times. I used to be worried about this, thinking that I should be more driven and focused, but I have come to discover that all experience in medicine is useful and it really is the journey that is enjoyable rather than the destination.”

Top: Raleigh Trekking Group. Below: Trekking in the Himalayas. Opposite page: Gokyo Rescue Post. Front cover: Trekking in the Monsoon in Nepal

staffing high altitude rescue posts with the International Porter Protection Group. Working in such a remote environment posed significant challenges, from untangling bureaucratic nightmares in Kathmandu to evacuating porters with life threatening altitude related illnesses on foot.

After completing the MRCP exams and coming to the end of my core medical training in Yorkshire I have decided to pursue a career in respiratory medicine. For now however, I am returning to university part time to gain qualifications in medical education. My post from August this year will be split 50/50 as a clinical fellow in respiratory medicine and a teaching fellow for Hull York Medical School based in York Foundation Trust.

The belief and self confidence fostered during my time at RGS has helped me tremendously on my journey so far and I am excited to see what adventures come next.