|
Dr Emma
Brandish is a foundation year two
doctor
Single best
decision
I entered medical school in 2006 as a
graduate, having previously read International Business with French
at Loughborough University. My first degree included an industrial
placement year which I spent working in London at the head office
of a high street fashion retailer. Working in fashion was
exciting and I planned to return as a graduate, but I changed my
mind during my final year and applied for medicine instead; this
was the single best decision I have ever made.
As a second year medical student I became
increasingly aware of the role of research in clinical practice. I
knew absolutely nothing about research but wanted to learn more so
I emailed my personal tutor for advice. He was a psychiatrist and
he invited me to spend the summer vacation doing research with him.
I successfully applied to the Wellcome Trust for a Vacation
Scholarship which funded 8 weeks of basic research training and the
opportunity to contribute to a number of different studies. During
that summer I had my first taste of both clinical and academic
psychiatry and I loved it. It was as if a light switched on - I
knew what I wanted to do.
Award
Further experience gained during my psychiatry
clinical attachments increased its appeal. I enjoyed spending
time with patients, talking to them, entering into their world and
exploring. I became fascinated by the interaction between
mental illness and the unique human experience of individual
patients.
In 2010 I was awarded an Undergraduate
Fellowship in Psychiatry. The Fellowship scheme is a
Southampton initiative where clinical medical students with an
expressed interest in psychiatry have the opportunity to compete
for a monetary prize (to support educational development in
psychiatry) and are assigned a psychiatrist mentor. They are
also encouraged to assume an active role in further development of
the local student psychiatry society.
It was the combination of these academic and
clinical experiences which prompted me to apply for an Academic
Foundation Programme in Psychiatry to further explore my interest
in the specialty.
Cement
my career choice
 Post qualification I have frequently encountered
significant psychopathology within the general hospital setting. I
often considered how this contributes to the presentation of
physical illness and it has served to remind me how important
mental well-being is to overall health.
Despite enjoying aspects of medical and
surgical jobs I continue to be drawn to psychiatry and my four
months as an academic FY2 in psychiatry has cemented my career
choice. I have recently been appointed as an Academic Clinical
Fellow in General Adult Psychiatry in the Wessex Deanery. I start
in August 2012 and I am very much looking forward to the next stage
of fmy psychiatric career.
I cannot deny that I have been lucky and
mentorship has been a key factor in my progress to date. In
particular, that of Professor David Baldwin and Dr Julia Sinclair
who have supported me and guided me whilst introducing me to a
world of clinical and academic possibilities. However, despite the
convenience of having a receptive and supportive academic
psychiatrist as a personal tutor I have met many psychiatrists who
are extremely receptive to opportunistic emails from keen medical
students and junior doctors looking for further clinical or
academic experience. Therefore I would always encourage
colleagues who express an interest in psychiatry to take that first
step.
Psychiatry is still evolving, there is still
so much to discover and learn, so much we don't understand and that
is incredibly exciting. I want to be a part of its future. I
shamelessly promote the virtues of psychiatry as a specialty
wherever I go, both to medical students and to other doctors. I
also encourage medical students and other junior doctors to
consider academic medicine as I don't feel it is sufficiently well
promoted to them yet it presents diverse, stimulating and exciting
career opportunities.
|