Dr Becky Talbot is an ST6 Geriatric Medicine Registrar from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region. She is a representative on the BGS Education and Training Committee. Here she shares her #ChooseGeriatrics story.
It seems a long time ago now, but I actually failed my geriatric medicine exam at medical school. It was one third of half of a module, so I hadn’t given it much thought. In hindsight, the lived reality of my grandparents’ progressive decline and dementia meant I didn’t want to engage much in it. My supervisor at the time who was a paediatrician (I had needed to retake a paediatric exam too) said he knew a paediatric pharmacologist who failed paediatrics and pharmacology at medical school and that anything is possible. I thought that wasn’t helpful – I surely wasn’t going to become a geriatrician or paediatrician after failing.
So, when I left medical school, I thought I wanted to be a hand surgeon. I had undertaken a special study module in it, been to a conference and most importantly someone had told me I was good at it! I enjoyed the practicality of doing something fiddly and aiding function plus you got to sit down in theatre.
As I started my foundation job on a surgical rotation, I quickly realised that a career in surgery wasn’t for me. Being the continuity on the ward I found that I enjoyed getting to know my patients and their stories and I was worried I wouldn’t achieve the work life balance that my hard-working surgical registrars struggled to achieve.
My next rotation was Geriatrics, and I was lucky enough to have a fantastic role model. The consultant was one of those people who came onto the ward and ‘sorted everything out’. I learnt the value of an MDT approach and got to know patients who I still remember today.
But when it came to specialty applications at the start of foundation year 2, I was still confused. I had never done General Practice, what if I wanted to do that, being the medical registrar looked scary and what about jobs we don’t get much exposure to such as microbiology or radiology?
I breathed a sigh of relief when I decided to not apply and take some time to work it out. My friends were all going to Australia to do Emergency Medicine, but I was on my Emergency Medicine placement and hated it so why would I travel across the world to a job I hated? I looked at other options and found a marine conservation company who take medics on expedition. If I hadn’t been a doctor, I think I would have been a marine biologist, and this opportunity seemed to scratch that itch. I went to Belize for 3 months and joined a diving expedition.
In the run up to this I had completed another Geriatric Medicine placement during foundation year 2 and this had somewhat cemented my growing feelings that this was what being a doctor was meant to be about – individualised care plans, treating patients as people and great team work.
So, I applied for medical training whilst in Belize (Wi-Fi just about holding up). But following my offer the opportunity to join my friends in Australia seemed too good to not take up. I worked for a year in a small hospital between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast on mainly medical rotations including Geriatrics. They had a specialist dementia unit and a GEDI (Geriatric Emergency Department Intervention) nurse.
By the time I returned to the UK and started my medical training, I was clear that I wanted to #ChooseGeriatrics.
In another curve of the road following difficulties with applications during COVID, I ended up taking a leadership and education fellowship and a clinical fellowship in Geriatrics before starting my Geriatric Medicine training.
When I think back to failing my exam, I remember being told that everything would work out. As I approach completing my training, I think somehow it has. I’m working in a job I love with a wonderful team, interesting days and ultimately feel like I make a difference to people. I know that there will still be many twists and turns in the road ahead, but I hope to embrace these challenges as they come along.
I hope by sharing my story I can reassure others that a path to #ChooseGeriatrics doesn’t always have to be straightforward and inspire others to go for it!
