I remember telling my mother I wanted to be a doctor in the car on the way home from primary school. I then remember not wanting to be a doctor because I would be twenty two when I graduated and that was just unfathomably old.

Pate’s Grammar School re-energised this desire and helped me do the unthinkable – achieve it. I will always be grateful for the guidance and support given to me which probably at the time I regret to say I took for granted.

I love being a doctor – most of the time. It is a career filled with excitement and intrigue which is always changing and never, ever boring. I want to inspire people to do medicine for the reasons which make it so wonderful – when all the pieces of the puzzle come together to form a rare diagnosis; when you can tell someone why they feel bad and how you will fix it; when you help a patient die peacefully surrounded by their relatives.

But I had friends who hated it. And usually they were the ones who had picked medicine for the wrong reasons. They didn’t fully understand what they were getting themselves into. Because medicine is hard. There are long hours, night shifts, angry people, screaming people, and lots and lots and lots of paperwork. And so that passion is essential.

In essence that is why I wanted to come to schools and speak to students about medicine. I wanted to tell them the good and the bad so that people could make informed decisions about the career, and decide to do it (or not to!) for the right reasons.

Jennifer Gough – student 2004-2011
MBBCH Cardiff University
Internal medical trainee Gloucester Royal Hospital
I am always happy to answer emails to any aspiring medics out there with questions: Jennifer.Gough2@nhs.net