On Thursday 26th February, Dr Rishi Chopra, class of 1996 and parent to two current students, came to deliver a talk to Year 12 students on how to get into medicine, covering UCAS applications, skills students should aim to demonstrate and what to know about studying medicine. 

Working as a GP partner, teacher and practitioner, Rishi has a wealth of experience to share. Leaving Latymer in 1996, he took a gap year, where he "mopped the blood and guts" after surgeries at Whittington Hospital for three months and also spent some time in Chase Farm's HR department "filing documents and making some coffee and tea" for doctors. From there, he headed to Queen Mary's Medical School, and trained to become a GP, his dream job, praising the care for "patients that are pre-cradal to post-grave" and the variety in his work. 

Rishi provided in-depth information to students in terms of UCAS applications, choosing a medical school and writing compelling personal statements. To prepare well for interviews, he recommended contacting other doctors, reading books and keeping up with global medical affairs. 

Rishi also touched on the decreasing applicants to prestigious medical schools like Oxbridge, and the increasing proportion of successful and female applicants. Going to medical school doesn't seal a career as a doctor as it offers 2-3 degrees, the third of which being a general scientific degree, allowing potential career options such as science, military medicine or even medical journalism. He explored the charitable tendencies of medical students, the large student loans accumulated, the resilience of junior doctors, having worked 104 hours himself in his first week, and a potential elective year, allowing students to work in medicine wherever they like around the world. 

Rishi concluded that while there may be a lot going on right now and that he doesn't know what the future of the NHS is but medicine remains "a highly respected career" and, in his opinion, "there is no higher career choice for man". 

As Rishi observed afterwards, "the number of students who want to do medicine is still 20-30 year on year (which is consistent with my time). You guys are the same age every year when I come [i.e. 16-17] while I keep growing older, but coming back here lets me revisit my very fond memories of Latymer!" 

Thank you very much Dr Rishi Chopra for helping another Year 12 cohort in deciding on medicine and constructing a powerful application to fulfil your medical dreams! 

If, like Rishi, you would like to help current students in learning more about a specific career or preparing for UCAS applications & interviews, please contact Beatrice Cami, Development & Alumni Relations Manager, at alumni@latymer.co.uk

Contributor to this article: Samik, Year 11 student.

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