Only three years ago, Emily Spry was a first year medical student, yet she has managed to become president of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations. Tim Rittman found out what drives her

In the past month, Emily Spry, a medical student from London, has been to the Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, and is currently travelling to France to set up camp for the next year. This month will be a month that typifies the coming year. As the elected president of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA), her sabbatical year from studying medicine at St George's, London, will be swallowed up by attending meetings and conferences and coordinating projects around the world. She will represent the federation to the World Health Organization, other agencies of the United Nations, and interest groups, as well as managing members and officials of the IFMSA.

It is a meteoric rise given that Emily has only three years of medical study under her belt; so what is her secret? "Just try to always do something that challenges you; listen to advice and perspectives from others, particularly experienced people; and always try to take lots of time to reflect on what your objectives are, what your core values are, and how your performance is and whether you can improve it. You have to be happy and enjoying what you do, otherwise you can't do a good job," she says.

An Oxford psychology and philosophy graduate, Emily chose to study medicine as a postgraduate so she would have a skill she could take anywhere in the world. "I went on a trip to Australia and met a guy who was a carpenter. He travelled the world working and living off his trade. I wondered what I could do--I could write essays, I could 'think.' At that time I really didn't see that as a skill. I'd wanted to do medicine as a kid, but at 18 I didn't feel ready."

Although it seems hard to believe now, Emily says that she often felt shy and alone at school up until she was 14. But she has more than made up for that that early lack of confidence by standing for positions that necessitate dealing with people from all different walks of life; she goes to international conferences as future president of the IFMSA and teaches sex education to young people in inner city schools in London. Emily attributes this turnaround to the realisation that people would accept her for who she was and also that she had more skills than just the ability to study.

Despite the apparent jet set lifestyle of the IFMSA president that would turn many people green with envy, it is the local projects that remain close to Emily's heart. "It's always going to me important for me that I understand things on the ground level. I'm not just an administrator, someone who organises other people and doesn't know what it's like to do the actual work."

One particularly successful local scheme was Sexpression--a medical student led initiative, aiming to help young people make decisions about their sexual health--which Emily helped to set up. Working with Sexpression was the first important stepping stone to becoming president of MedSIN UK, a national network of medical students based in the United Kingdom, who try to support and set up community projects locally and abroad. This in turn, led to her current incumbency.

Emily is studying for a degree that is notoriously intensive, how did she find time to fit so much into her schedule? "I find that I work so much better if I have a limited time to study, rather than having a lot of time and ending up doing nothing. I am also lucky to have a couple of friends that I study with and we all help each other a lot before big exams. I'm also driven by wanting to do more than medicine. I started medicine a bit late, and now I want to be not just the best doctor I can but the best human being I can and that means I can't just ignore everything apart from my physiology book--there is more to life," she says.

Even though Emily insists that her motivation is down to medicine being more than physiology textbooks, something else is obviously spurring her on. She has strong opinions and has an idealism that she acts on, rather than simply preaches about--a refreshing change in the current climate of student politics in the United Kingdom. "I have always been aware that I was born incredibly lucky--with clean water, good nutrition and health care, in a country without conflict, in a place where human rights and women's rights are upheld by law. I am also aware that the vast majority of the people in the world have very few of these privileges. I want to leave the world a better place than when I arrived," she explains.

But as Emily might attest, going against the grain and taking risks needs determination and confidence--sticking your neck out and standing up for what you believe is not always easy in medicine. Having morphed from a shy 14 year old into a person full of confidence, what advice would she give to people who want to follow in her footsteps? "Just get stuck in to what you are interested in. Don't get stopped by the fear that you are studying medicine, although lots of people will try to scare you. Good doctors grow out of people who dare to try new things and to get involved in important issues, not from people who live in fear of getting a few per cent lower than their best in the exams. Be brave and commit yourself to something new and exciting--you will be amazed by the rewards that you will get, in friendship, in skills, and in opportunities."

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