Susan, a final year student on the HCP-Med programme, explains why it was the right programme for her, and shares the highlights and challenges so far.
Choosing HCP-Med
When I considered a career change into medicine there were a couple of different options, yet few seemed financially and personally feasible. Some would have meant being on placement away from home for 9 months – an impossible scenario as a parent – while for others I wouldn’t have been eligible as my original degree wasn’t an honours degree.
As I had just given up my search I saw a Scottish government press release regarding the HCP-med course and thought that this could be for me. I thought that the ability to earn for at least some of the course, and to do some of it from home when my children were younger, would make it a practical possibility.
Unlike the traditional MBChB path, HCP-Med offered flexibility — a crucial element allowing me to balance work, study, and family life. As I discovered the programme early on, I had plenty of time to prepare, including completing a master’s module in Public Health to show current academic ability.
Highlights so far
The highlight so far has been learning with and from colleagues in my HCP-med cohort. I have also had many great clinical supervisors who have treated me as an individual and as an adult learner. I have been able to consider and evaluate aspects of their professional behaviour and aim to emulate the good practice I have seen.
Biggest challenges
The biggest challenge so far has been juggling family, work and academic life. This has been particularly difficult when placements and timetables were not decided or were changed at short notice. One of my children has also been unwell over the past 18 months, as has my mother who was previously one of my main sources of childcare (and moral support).
Another challenge is the cultural shift between the HCP- med programme and the main programme. For me, it has been difficult to go from a small group of students to being one of many students who are not known personally to leadership of the MBCHB programme.
Biggest lessons about myself
I thought before the course that I as quite good at persevering when things were difficult and this has been confirmed. I have learned that I enjoy seeing a variety of presentations so have enjoyed settings where there is an undifferentiated patient group e.g A+E, acute receiving units in surgery medicine, paediatrics and GP. I have also learned a lot from my other HCP-Med colleagues both in terms of clinical knowledge and skills and in strategies and ways to manage on placement and am grateful for all of them.
After graduation
After graduating, I probably hope to find some casual work between finishing my placement and starting FY1. I would hope to have a bit of time off when the children are off school in the summer holidays – and to have some decent weather to do free things like go to the beach! I am also really looking forward to a final night out we have planned for the HCP med cohort.
I know that I have a Foundation job in Scotland in the East region and I am applying to programmes with paediatrics in them, which is something I am considering as a specialism.
For anyone standing at a similar crossroads, looking to shift into medicine but daunted by the financial and personal commitments, a path like HCP-Med can make it possible. It offers not just medical education but a feasible integration of professional and personal life, ensuring you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other in the early years.
It can be challenging at times of course, but I am confident it will be worth it to achieve a career in medicine.
