Where did it all go wrong? | Medicine to Biomedical Science

I’ll be honest, my initial plans weren’t to start a career as a scientist. In fact I’ve always wanted to be a doctor (hence the name of my blog) and I planned accordingly. Unfortunately, like with most things in life my ‘perfect plan’ didn’t quite work out. Before I go on let me share with you what my ‘perfect plan’ entailed:

1)      Get amazing GCSE results

2)      Go to a college I really enjoy and ace my A-levels

3)      Get into a top Uni to study Medicine

4)      Become a doctor

5)      Buy my mum a house

6)      Marry an amazing guy and MAYBE have some kids

7)      Live happily ever after…

 Needless to say my plan didn’t work out. Though, to be fair, I haven’t lived long enough to see if I meet the last three goals on my list. However, with the current economy, the concept of buying a house for my mum seems a little far-fetched but I guess we never really know what life has in store for us.

Anyways, my plan started going downhill after I left secondary school. I achieved pretty good GCSE results (I was a straight A student) but I ended up going to a sixth form which I absolutely hated. It was far from home and I honestly didn’t fit in, I hated my environment and that had a negative impact on my attitude towards studies. I was depressed. I went from the happiest girl in the room to the unhappiest. I’ll save the story of my horrific time in sixth form for another post – it was a depressing time and I don’t feel like being depressed right now, sorry! Long story short, I achieved terrible grades and had to move colleges.

Even though my new sixth form wasn’t at the top of the league tables like my previous sixth form, I had a much better experience there. The teachers helped me pass my A-levels with fairly good results which meant I was able to apply to University. Unfortunately, most medical schools in the UK do not accept students who got their a-levels over three years i.e. they don’t want students who had to retake a whole year. Learning this actually broke my heart and I started to feel like all my hopes and dreams were crushed and I no longer had a purpose. But through research and talking to the careers advice team in my sixth from, I learnt that there was more than one way into Medschool. One of the most viable options for me was to study a different degree and then apply for graduate entry medicine. This means I will have to complete a traditional bachelor’s degree (which is typically 3 years long) and then apply to study medicine as a graduate (a further 4/5 years). Obviously, this is a more time consuming route but I didn’t mind. My goal is to be a doctor no matter how long it takes.

In hindsight, I secured a place to study Biomedical Science. The three years of uni were great, I worked hard and I got my old work ethic back. I became more comfortable in my own skin and I was generally much happier compared to how I was feeling in sixth form. I graduated with a First Class Honours Degree which seemed impossible when I first started. It just goes to show that hard work and a positive attitude can help you achieve anything.

So that was the story behind why I ended up studying Biomedical Science rather than Medicine. Things rarely ever run smoothly in life but the most important thing is to ADAPT! There will always be an alternative. It may take longer, may cost more or may require more work but if the end result is the same what does it matter? Success is equally about the journey as it is about the outcome!