A Med Student's View

...Of the Royal Marsden, Oncology and Medicine

Before the first day of my work experience at the Marsden I found myself in the queue for the staff bus that goes directly to the Sutton site. Now, I'm not certain that I was allowed to use this bus, but in the queue I made friends with two doctors that kindly said they would vouch for me if the suitability of my taking the bus was questioned. This was very generous of them, because I'm not fond of red buses and even if I were, I didn't have the faintest idea of where to find one.

Safe in my seat, I began talking with a third year junior doctor, on his elective (learn more here) from Germany. We talked about oncology, and his experience so far of medicine. He had been at the Marsden for eight weeks, and I asked him what he thought of the Hospital. Like so many of the people I would talk to that week, he told me how friendly it was, how all the staff were happy to be there and how generous everyone had been with their time when showing him the ropes of a modern cancer hospital.

He mentioned also that he had worked in an A&E (Accident and Emergency Department - learn more here) in Germany, when he saw the book I was reading (In Stitches by Dr Nick Edwards, a cracking read, but more on that later). A&E is, he told me, very intense, but in his opinion it simply does not compare to Oncology. Where A&E gives you the thrill of emergency, often instantly life-saving medicine, oncology provides a deeper, more real experience about what it means to care for and treat a patient, as you stick with them, build up a repertoire, and see their story right until the end, in most cases. Granted, he said, it is draining and not a job for everyone, but on an emotional level it is an incredibly gratifying job, and he would not trade it for the "drama" that you experience in the A&E department. I wonder if many other medical students rotating between areas of medicine would agree.

It was very interesting to hear his views, as he has had a far more extensive taste of what different areas of medicine are really like, and I was glad that I had taken the staff bus, even if it did get me a few odd looks.

Thanks for reading!