Life beyond Radford

I am currently working as a medical officer for the Royal Australian Air Force. I got posted to RAAF Base Williamtown, Australia’s main fighter pilot training base, for the next two years. I live just south in Newcastle with my husband Nick – and soon with our new dog Nigel.

I enjoy running, and look forward to getting back into playing netball when I’m in more of a routine.

For me, it wasn’t easy to decide what to do. I knew I was interested in science at school, but I also enjoyed reading and English. There are so many possibilities for careers it can be difficult to decide!

When I first left Radford I was certain that I wanted to have a career in medical research. I moved to Wollongong to study science. I decided to leave Canberra just for the change, and Wollongong seemed like a good option as it wasn’t too far away (and was near the beach!). I really enjoyed my degree with a joint major in Biological and Biomedical Sciences and went on to do honours, which I also enjoyed. I started a PhD, but realized that research perhaps wasn’t for me after all. I decided I wanted more contact with people in my career, but still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I moved back to Canberra in 2006 and worked for the Australian Public Service for three years – two-and-a-half with the then Department of Finance and Administration and six months with the National Health and Medical Research Council. By the end of that time I had decided to study medicine, so sat the GAMSAT in 2008 (I had the marks to get into medicine straight out of Radford, but it took me nearly 10 years to figure out what I wanted to do) and was accepted at the University of Queensland. I elected to do the degree under sponsorship from the Air Force, for the experience and also for the employment benefits. After working at The Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane for two years after graduating, I’ve started my five-year return of service to the Air Force this year and I am enjoying it so far. Defence life is quite different from civilian life, but there are many benefits. I’m hoping to get involved in some humanitarian aid in the next couple of years, and I’m studying to become a GP.

There is no right path to get to where you want to go – if you want to get there badly enough there will be a way.

It’s ok to not know what you want to do yet. It’s also ok if you can’t get into a career path you’re interested in straight away. I don’t feel disadvantaged in any way from doing a few different things before medicine, and eventually everyone finds what they want to do. Try to enjoy high school while you can!