I worked as a nursing assistant on the Acute Medical Unit in the NHS. I wanted to have a true insight into the realities of medicine before committing. I worked long, hard shifts in many different wards, gained some clinical skills and gained invaluable experience. Doctors allowed me to shadow them, they gave me bedside teaching and surgeons allowed me to scrub into their surgeries and sit in on their clinics - I loved every second of it. During this time, my mum passed away. I became hyper-aware of the world, that time really is too short. I focused my energy entirely on becoming a doctor. I wanted to prove to myself that care leavers and mature students are deserving of a place in medicine and can even out-perform some of the most privileged students. I later received unconditional offers to some of the UK’s most prestigious universities.

I’m now a medical student at King’s College London.