When did you first become interested in science?

 

I wanted to be a doctor from the age of seven on skill-based and humanitarian grounds, but for a long time I don't think I understood its complex foundation in science. The first time I remember being really fascinated with pure science was aged eleven when our science teacher burned magnesium in a demonstration and explained the chemical equations. This opened a whole new world and I've never looked back!

 

What path did you take to your career?

 

I belong to a family that greatly values academic learning and I always enjoyed school, so I did well in my Higher School Certificate equivalent in Queensland. Our careers advisors at my high school were on the ball, so I prepared for and sat the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test in the middle of year 12 and then flew around Australia doing medical school interviews towards the end of that year. I was accepted for several programs and chose an undergraduate degree at the University of Newcastle, taking one year off first and then commencing my five-year degree.

 

Medical school was fantastic! We worked hard and had more than double the contact hours of colleagues in most other degrees, as well as fewer holidays. However, the rewards of working with a great group of people and attending fascinating placements all over different health care settings throughout Australia and the world made it more than worth it.

 

After graduating, I applied for, and was accepted for, a rural preferential intern placement at Tweed Hospital in the far north of NSW in order to live in Queensland but work in the less volatile health system of NSW. I have spent the last four and a half years working at Tweed and surrounding hospitals in various roles - mostly emergency medicine - as well as in a general practice setting. I picked up a Diploma of Child Health and some valuable paediatric experience along the way.

 

I intend to complete my general practice and emergency physician training, and have taken several trips overseas to use my skills as a volunteer in developing countries. Later on, I would like to undertake a public health postgraduate degree and contribute to health care in the developing world.

 

What is an average week like in your job?

 

In medicine, particularly in the emergency department, no two days are ever the same. In any one-week period, it is common to be called to attend and lead the treatment of a person with a cardiac arrest up on the medical ward, to be involved in a team resuscitating a very unwell person, for example a sick baby or a person with a head injury, and sometimes to accompany that person in the ambulance to be transferred to a tertiary hospital. I also deal with many slightly more mundane problems such as sprained ankles, coughs and colds. I will take my turn at managing the patient flow of a busy emergency department as in charge doctor on night shift. I will hear the stories of and examine many unwell people, order and interpret dozens of blood test and x-ray or CT results, perform various invasive investigative or therapeutic procedures, give advice and assistance to junior doctors and seek the help of my seniors, and teach medical students on the run. I work on a 24-hour roster, through weekends and public holidays and sometimes many days in a row. I sometimes don't sit down to eat. I come home exhausted but usually pumped, and usually thankful.

 

What is the best thing that has happened in your job?

 

There isn't one best thing. I really love working as a team player in a collaborative environment, and learning to lead the team. I love the rush that comes with saving someone's life or improving the survival chances of someone a critical condition. I love the wow factor in seeing interesting things I haven't seen before, or doing something successfully that I've struggled with in the past. I love teaching, and learning, and knowing that what I do makes a positive difference to other people's lives. And I really appreciate the sometimes few and far between times when someone goes out of their way to say thank you.

 

What advice would you give to a young aspiring scientist?

 

Do your research. Read websites, magazines, industry journals and whatever else you can get your hands on and look for the opportunities and possible pathways to careers you might want to pursue. And talk to people, many many people. Look for people a few years ahead of you, especially other young women, who are successful in areas that interest you. You can ask them to meet up with you once or twice or sometimes even on a more regular basis, hammer them with your questions and listen to their stories. Talk with them about what their job is like, the hurdles and challenges along the way, how they approach work-life balance, travel, money, and keeping their value system intact inside the rat race.

 

If you still aren't sure what you want, that's completely okay. Most people's plans change a lot as they go along. Go out of your way to give yourself as many options as you can and explore them all. 

 

There is much more time than you think. It isn't a race to the top or the end, so whatever else you do, make sure you enjoy the ride!