To Be or Not To Be (a Doctor)

What else can be done with a medical degree?

In the first few weeks of term at Leeds, many of us were told about the ‘end goal’ and our eventual progression into the NHS as fully qualified junior doctors. I imagined myself fresh out of medical school performing emergency heart surgery and confident that university had taught me all I needed to know despite having no independent surgical experience – an unlikely first day on the job for a 24-year-old junior doctor. That eagerness has since passed but the passion for medicine is still going strong, even after reading both of Adam Kay’s books. But the one thing that has been asked since coming to university is – what else can be done with a medical degree? And the answer is not as easy to find as one might think. There is sparse information available about alternative careers even on iDecide. The typical route of graduating and working till consultancy does still remain appealing but seems to lack something especially to those who studied a mix of the sciences and arts at A-Level. Although it is fair to assume the 99% of students want to practice, it still begs the question – if medicine as a whole is reliant on the multidisciplinary, why is the concept not fostered for the 1%? 

One lecturer’s analogy of a production line is perhaps the most fitting of the educational system we find ourselves in. They provided just one departure from the system however through academic foundation programmes (AFPs) – but this remains mostly in-line with clinical work. There are in-fact many fields related to medicine that often go un-talked about. Not just that, many of the essay competitions available to medical students are likewise open to students of law and politics leading us to think there is a more prevalent connection to the humanities, social sciences and arts than widely thought. The IDEALS strand of the Leeds curriculum does its best to address this common shortcoming and in doing so represents how humanities in general along with many other sub-disciplines, as argued by Grant, 2002 and seen in figure 1, can complement the medical field as well as how and why medical humanities should become part of the core medical curriculum. 

An integration of the arts and humanities into medical education can encourage development of the essential qualities of a doctor set out by the GMC including ‘professionalism, self-awareness, communication skills, and reflective practice’ (Wald et al.,2019). Here an important distinction has to be made: a lot of scientists are very narrowly focused on their particular field and, while this is both symptomatic of a PhD and a strength of detailed research, it does mean that a lot of their work lacks a wider understanding of different perspectives. Medics however are exempt from this. Medics while still scientists, require taking the stance of a much broader perspective; and an ability to contemplate any possible implications of their work and research is mandatory. It is here a greater understanding of humanities plays a pivotal role. Supplementing medicine with a study of literature for example necessitates a critical ability to change and shift focus and perspective. Whether you are reading a fiction text that asks you to believe in a world that differs from ours, or adapting your perspective to understand the words of a first-person narrative voice, or even in creative writing, trying to elaborate on things that you yourself have not yet experienced – all of this encourages and supports the development of a critical mind that can perceive and understand multiple possibilities, perspectives and opinions. It perfectly complements the scientific skills needed to research breakthroughs in medicine, technology and infrastructure – because an imaginative approach is far less restricted and restrictive. 

As stated earlier, the IDEALS strand plays a large role in encouraging future doctors to galvanise patient care through a more holistic approach, but this approach should not be limited to the medical profession. Career sectors ranging from the more closely related ethics and law to the further afield medical humanities can be supplemented by having a qualified medical professional in their employ and as mentioned, the medical profession can likewise benefit from this wider appreciation. Talking to those who have been involved in both the sciences and arts, it is clear they have benefitted from the multidisciplinary aspects of their studies. As well as this, an increasing number of graduates with backgrounds in economics, history and law are deciding to pursue graduate medicine courses so why is it ill-advised for medical graduates to do the reverse? 

Medicine is seen as a well-rounded career and albeit true, there are ways of supplementing it further. Taking an intercalation in the humanities, politics, economics or law should be encouraged and looking at ways your medical expertise can be used in ways outside of its original scope could provide alternative career prospects. Websites such as Medic Footprints are a testament to this and can provide examples of doctors who have used their skills taught at university for other careers including serving as an MP or consulting for medical technology companies. 

Studying humanities within medicine can ‘overcome the separation of clinical care from the human sciences’ and nurture careers other than that of a doctor by ‘foster[ing] interdisciplinary teaching’ (Gordon, 2005; Wald et. Al, 2019). While medicine is a vocational subject, the skills learnt are widely applicable and transferrable, and anyone brave enough to admit to wanting to jump from campus to (outside of) the clinic should be encouraged, and  we should be advising all medical students to continue their passions – as you never know where it could take you. 

Alexander Thornton