Stories from OUs in Medicine T
aking on a career in medicine is a huge commitment, it takes around 10 years to train as a GP (including medical school) and an additional five to eight years training in a chosen specialty. With an ageing population and increasing pressure on the NHS to meet the diverse needs of people in existing and future communities, we talked to some OU doctors about their experiences to get an insight into one of the most demanding professions out there.
Most of medicine is about being human and compassionate, as well as being able to communicate and work well under pressure in a team.”
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Katie Miller (Fd 03): First Year Registrar A science enthusiast from an early age, you could say Katie has medicine in her blood. With two parents as doctors, she says it was almost inevitable that she would follow in their footsteps. Katie is currently a first-year registrar in general surgery, working in the East of England region. She graduated from the University of Nottingham just over five years ago and spent two years in the South West for foundation training, followed by two years of core surgical training at Bedford Hospital. It is the diversity of the discipline which appealed to Katie and is perhaps why she chose to specialise in general surgery – one of the two largest surgical specialties in the UK (the other one being trauma and orthopaedics). General surgery is a wide-ranging surgical specialty which requires broad knowledge and skills to perform surgery, often in emergency situations. It is also where you’ll find 31% of the country’s consultant surgeons. “Medicine is a wonderful and unique career with such a diverse range of specialties to choose from, as well as the opportunity to combine your clinical work with roles in education, research or management,” says Katie. “Work at times can, however, be challenging and stressful, so deciding whether medicine is for you is an extremely important step. I spent a lot of time talking with my parents about the different pros and cons of the job, as well as spending some invaluable work experience at hospitals around the region to sample a flavour of the day-to-day work of a medic.” Regular workshop sessions with Mr de Wet and Dr Bodily during her time at Uppingham helped Katie to prepare for the application and interview process for medical school.