Most of us feel lucky if we’re good at one thing. But one University of Aberdeen graduate turned her back on an English literature degree to excel in medicine.
Erin McDonald, from Reay in Caithness, was one of 202 medical students to receive their degree at today’s ceremony in Aberdeen.
For a long time, the former Thurso High School pupil wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life.
As she neared the end of her school days, she’d whittled down the options to two.
‘I’d never know until I tried medicine’
“I don’t have anybody medical in my family or anything like that, I didn’t know anybody where I’m from who had gone on to do it,” said Erin.
“So I decided to apply for English literature instead, and I was very close to going to university to do that. I’ve always loved reading, I’ve always loved writing, I’ve always loved that area of things, so I just felt that suited me a bit better.
“But during the four or five months when I was waiting to decide whether or not to take that offer, I just came to the decision that I would never really know unless I tried with the medicine side of things.
“So I decided to take a year out and reapply, and fortunately I got in to study medicine.
“It was a bit of a roundabout journey, but I just always felt that I wanted to do something that involved working with people. And that’s primarily what medicine is, a very people-focused job, with a lot of communication and teamwork.
“My life would have been very different had I done English, but ultimately I don’t see myself doing anything in the long-run other than this. So I think it was the right decision for me.”
‘People would travel two and a half hours for a 10-minute appointment’
Being a five-hour car journey from home could be daunting at times, and Erin wasn’t able to “nip home” for the weekend the way many of her friends could.
But her medical studies did give her the opportunity to spend time in the north, with three placements in the Highlands – two where she was based in Inverness and one in Fortrose.
“I was very lucky that the medicine degree at Aberdeen University has a focus on remote and rural placements during your fourth and fifth year.
“And while I didn’t go all the way up to Caithness, I went up to the Inverness area three times and got to experience that side of things, which I really enjoyed.
“Having an appreciation of how difficult it is to access healthcare when you’re up the road in Caithness, and the challenges that people face, you know, people would travel two and a half hours down to Raigmore Hospital for a 10-minute appointment and then go home.
“I think having that understanding of how difficult that is and what that means – I’ve seen it myself and with my family over the years – was really interesting, being on the other side of things.”
Navigating medical school during Covid, and future plans
Like many students the last few years, Erin’s Aberdeen University days coincided with Covid.
“It was tough,” she said, “undeniably so.”
“Although I do feel that my cohort [who began in 2019] got off relatively lightly in comparison with other years.
“We were just finishing first year when Covid started. Second and third year were very much remote, or distance, learning which was difficult.
“But I’m grateful it didn’t happen later during my clinical attachments, when it would have had a huge impact.
“Or earlier, when I was navigating that transition from school to nursery.”
Erin is staying in Aberdeen for the next two years, where she’ll be a junior doctor at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, starting in August.
Asked about her future plans, she said: “I know what I don’t want to do, but if I had to put something down on paper, I’d say I’m most interested in oncology and haematology, so cancers, blood cancers and things like that.”
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