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Dr Samira Green (née Tritton) writes:
I never thought on A Level results day at Lancing, that I’d be sitting here now, a qualified doctor with a post in Academic Emergency Medicine. My path into Medical School and beyond has not been straightforward, but if it wasn’t for the encouragement and support from my Biology teacher at Lancing, I don’t think I’d be sitting here now.
At Lancing, when I expressed an interest to pursue a career in medicine, it was met with a mix of encouragement and considerable doubt in my ability, and my grades. Fortunately I had carried out enough work experience in my school holidays to get interviews and offers for a medical school undergraduate programme. However when results day came my Chemistry A Level let me down and my offers were withdrawn. Devastated, I took myself up to the University of Edinburgh for a Biological Sciences degree, where I pursued and developed my research interests, winning a Scholarship to undertake a project at the Medical Research Council, which was subsequently published.
I also worked abroad in Tanzania running a project for a University of Edinburgh charity. Through all of this, my determination did not falter, and with a fantastic reference from that same Biology teacher from Lancing, I gained a place on the Graduate Entry Medical Programme, which is now far more competitive than the undergraduate route.
Once in medical school I thrived, and with my research experience was able to undertake extensive research projects with the Emergency Department and Pre-Hospital Care arena with London’s Air Ambulance; I have presented research at both National and International conferences as well as having been published in a number of well respected journals. I was elected Principal Student at the Royal Society of Medicine and have mentored many a student with applications to medical school.
My highlights have been an elective with London’s Air Ambulance, witnessing the incredible life changing work they do, and working in research teams in the emergency department with studies that really change a patient’s outcomes and help to save lives. I am excited about the next stage of my career, gaining academic jobs in both London and Leicester, and have decided to continue my research in emergency medicine in the Midlands. I would love to support any students from Lancing who wish to embark on the amazing and challenging career that is Medicine.