Question: What changed your mind from being a medical doctor?

Rebecca Pullon answered on 12 Jun 2016:

Hi Lucy,

I changed my mind in my last term of high school when I found out about biomedical engineering. I knew that I wanted to do something in healthcare, and so pursuing medicine seemed to be the obvious choice. My dad is a doctor and so I had a good insight into what the career would be like, and I saw him get great satisfaction from his work. Then I heard about biomedical engineering and saw it as a way to combine my enjoyment of maths and problem solving, with healthcare. So I changed my degree choice!

In hindsight, I think there are many parts of medicine that I would have enjoyed, and sometimes I still ask myself if I made the right choice. However, there is a lot of bureaucracy within medicine (particularly in the UK – very top down structure), and as an engineer I have more flexibility to be able to develop products and do research. So I enjoy that. Now I partner with medical doctors who do the practical work of seeing the patients, trying out new equipment and they tell me what is clinically helpful. I also think I may have got tired of the constant people contact if I was a medical doctor (I’m an introvert by nature).

I hope that answers your question. It was a decision I struggled with a lot when I was at school, so please ask more if you find yourself in a similar situation!

Rebecca