In this blog I would like to tell you about myself. I was born in Malaysia and lived there till I was 19 years old. My ambition was to be a doctor from a very young age. I wanted to help people and make them better.
I came from a privileged family and my father wanted me to be educated in Medicine in an English Speaking University. I had a choice of going to Aberdeen or Adelaide. I chose to attend a University in Adelaide as it was closer to Malaysia, 6 hour flight journey instead of a 13 hour flight journey.
In my 6th year of medicine in Adelaide I could choose to go anywhere in the world to do my medical elective. I did my elective in an Accident and Emergency Department in London for 6 weeks. I chose London as my list to data sister lived in London with her husband and it was an opportunity to be with them. I was impressed at how multicultural Britain was. I visited several places in the United Kingdom during my stay. I felt part of the community and I was only a visitor.
During my stay I applied for a job as I wanted to work in the UK. I got a job as a junior doctor in Aberdeen! It must be my fate to go to Aberdeen. I went back to Adelaide to complete my degree and 26 years ago, I moved to the UK as a migrant doctor with a Malaysian Passport and an Autralian degree.
My friend, who also qualified in Australia, and and we supported each other settle into UK life. It wasn’t difficult. People were friendly, accepting and appreciated what we did. We made friends easily and had a great social life. We however did work hard, quite often starting work at 8 am on a Friday morning and not getting back to our junior doctor accomodation till 5pm on a Monday evening, only having had 4 hours of sleep all that time. Quite often working every day for 10 to 14 days without a break.