From Malaga to London

Sara Carrillo de Albornoz interrupted her medical studies in her home city in Spain to spend some time in the United Kingdom. What was supposed to be a gap year ended up as six years filled with an eclectic range of study, work, and life experiences. Tiago Villanueva finds out how it all happened

You left medicine after you had already started your fourth year. What was your motivation for leaving medicine?
It was not premeditated because I didn’t plan to leave; it just got to a point when I couldn’t continue. I had already started the fourth year (which I am now trying to finish). I realised that I wasn’t ready to become a doctor. I needed to experience a different life.

What happened for you to have changed your outlook on life?
I think the trigger was the year I spent in Italy as an Erasmus student, which opened my eyes to a wider world. I was lucky enough to meet people that made me see that every person has their own path and life is not a straight line. I went into medical school without giving it too much thought. At 18, not many people have a clear idea of what they want to do. I liked science and the idea of helping people, so medicine seemed the logical thing to do. However, what I really wanted at the time was to travel and discover the world, but in Spain students don’t take gap years like they do in the United Kingdom.

I did what was expected of me, but I felt increasingly suffocated. I needed to know what kind of doctor I wanted to be, what kind of person I wanted to become. I was overwhelmed by the medical world: the hospital, the huge amount of theory to memorise, and the responsibilities lying ahead.

So what happened next? You left for London on an adventure without much planning?
I chose London because it is unique, cosmopolitan, and full of possibilities. I left for London without a job or plan. I wanted to take a year out and then go back to medicine, but after that year I realised that I needed more time for myself.

I spent the first few years improving my English and living an ordinary life, working in different things, until I started to miss using my brain and applied to study at University College London. I spent the next three years doing a degree in neuroscience. The plan at the time was to do a PhD, but I realised I wasn’t cut out to be a lab person after all. I then found a job in scientific publishing, which reawoke my medical curiosity, and in which I met wonderful people that inspired me to continue my medical studies and become a doctor some day.

What were the main differences you found between Spanish and British higher education?
The universities in the UK are much more practical. Logical, deductive, and independent thinking is stimulated. My experience is that teaching is more personalised. There’s more support and closer interaction with the teachers.

Why did you get involved with publishing in the UK?
I know it’s a cliché, but I love reading and writing. I enjoy analysing thoughts, facts, and opinions. It seemed the best way to use my background.

What did you particularly like or dislike about London and the UK?
I like the opportunities available in terms of doing all sorts of courses, the flexibility, the chance to meet people from all kinds of backgrounds, and the cultural scene. But sometimes living in London is difficult. It is an expensive city, and life can be hard. There’s also the danger of getting lost in the hectic rhythm, losing track of what’s really important.

Why did you decide to return to Spain and continue your studies after six years?
Well, I would have loved to study medicine in the UK, but it was impossible to arrange a transfer. I would have had to start from the beginning, and I didn’t want to repeat all those years. Spain offered me the possibility to retake my studies where I left off and to continue with the clinical years, which is what interests me the most.

How have you adjusted to being back home, and what difficulties have you faced?
I’m not sure that I have completely adjusted yet. Firstly, I had to face the culture shock. I know it’s my own culture, but I’ve been away during an important time in my life, and I have acquired a different way of doing things. Secondly, I’m back to a much smaller city, with a much slower rhythm of life. And lastly, but most importantly, I need to adjust to the medical books and to a Spanish university.

Do you think you brought any assets to medicine?
I feel closer to patients now, more understanding.

Looking back at those six years out of medicine, do you have any regrets?
I don’t have any regrets. I wouldn’t be the person I am today otherwise.

What kind of work do you see yourself doing in the longer term and where?
I would like to do clinical work and medical writing as well. Regarding the location, I have no idea. Sometimes, especially if you’re a doctor, you have to go where the opportunities are, and the world is a big place. I might be naive, but I want to believe in a world without barriers, and I refuse to see myself limited by national borders. Sometimes people get frustrated because they want to do this one thing in this one place. If you’re flexible about what you want to do and where you want to go, however, you are happier.

But don’t you think that medicine is not the easiest of jobs in terms of professional mobility?
I am not saying that it is easy. But so many people are on the move. People change their lives, but we don’t hear about them, and so we don’t think it is possible to make things happen. You might be risking your career to a degree, because you’re not in a hospital writing papers and climbing the ladder like your classmates are, but your life is enriched by that experience and changed forever. After all, life is about personal, not professional, success.

What advice can you give medical students with the same doubts that you had?
Follow your instinct; follow your heart.

Tiago Villanueva, student editor, studentBMJ
Email: tvillanueva@bmj.com


studentBMJ 2006;14:1-44 January ISSN 0966-6494

       

           

	CAREERS From Malaga to London       Tiago Villanueva (January 2006)
	Balaji Ravichandran (December 22nd, 2005)       Second Year Medical Student; Advisor, sBMJ , Madras Medical College, Chennai, India balaji.ravichandran@gmail.com
	Sara's experience is quite illustrative of the position many medical students find themselves increasingly today. I stand as a typical example. Permit me to share my experience with the readers of sBMJ. I began my medical career after a state-first in medical entrance examination provided me with a hundred-pounds-per-annum government medical education. Many thought I had the basic pre-requisites to begin a career in medicine - a tendency to help others, and a scientific medicine. Alas! I now realise they aren't enough, unless you have your heart completely in it. I do not have any regrets for choosing to become a medical student. But, I wasn't prepared for the demands and sacrifices that it actually entailed. I'm not talking merely about the stresses that befall a medical student today; I presume its much deeper than that. So much so that I'm suffering from a lack of direction after having chosen my career, which is unfortunate. To quote Sara, it has matured to a point "when I couldn't continue... I [need] to experience a different life." I can't quite understand the reason for feeling thus. Because, despite knowing what I want with my life in the future (I want a research career in Neuroscience), I am faced with the daunting prospect of having to survive the lustreless years of undergraduate medical education - which is near impossible when you lack the focus and determination. Unlike Sara, discontinuing medical education in India may present with formidable problems, especially in the eyes of my professors and peers, and more importantly, India presents with no alternatives during the break period. Besides, coming from an unfortunate socio-economic background, I cannot afford to travel to places like London in search of alternative careers, which certainly seem overwhelmingly attractive. Being an advisor for the sBMJ has given me the opportunity to speak with students from around the world, and I understand that I'm not alone. This profile by Tiago Villanueva was, in the least, reassuring to me, as I seriously consider taking a break from medical education for a year to pursue my several other passions, including medical journalism and basic science research. Although limited by resources in a developing nation that India is, I "hope against hope hopen" that my dreams will one day (hopefully, soon enough) materialise.