YVETTE MARRIS (CGS 2019) CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST (ADMIN SUPPORT)

CAN YOU SHARE WHAT INSPIRED YOUR INTEREST IN THE MEDICAL FIELD AND HOW YOUR JOURNEY BEGAN?

I have wanted to be in medicine since early high school. My first memory is doing a week-long work experience placement when I was in Year 9 at Canberra Hospital. I observed the medical imaging team, spending a day or a half-day in various modalities, emergency X-ray, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, etc. I went home that day and talked my dad’s ear off. It was also the first time I could really appreciate that there were so many more career options in healthcare than just a doctor and a nurse.

HOW DID YOUR PAST ROLES AS A PHARMACY ASSISTANT SHAPE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF PATIENT CARE AND HEALTHCARE DELIVERY?

Working in community pharmacies allowed me to appreciate how good quality healthcare is delivered at multiple levels, not just in a hospital. I saw how creating a trusting relationship with people made such a huge difference in the outcomes for patients.

YOU HAVE ALSO HELD POSITIONS AS THE VOLUNTEER HEAD OF CONTENT FOR LET’S TORQUE AND VOLUNTEER EDITOR OF OMNISCI, HOW DID YOUR WRITING AND EDITORIAL WORK DEEPEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION?

I’ve always liked reading and writing; my dad was a journalist for many years, and my mum was a lawyer, so I guess I took after them. Science communication roles were not something I had ever considered until university. Perhaps a product of COVID, I gained an appreciation for just how important it is for medical research, especially as it relates to public policy, to be easily digestible for everyone without losing important details. It’s an intriguing balancing act that I would love to explore more.

YOU HAVE MADE SOME DIVERSE CAREER CHOICES YET STAYED CLOSE TO THE FIELDS OF MEDICINE AND STEM. WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY WHEN LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT CAREER MOVE?

I am about to start my Master of Public Health, which I will do while working my current job as Clinical Nurse Specialist Admin Support in the NHS in Bristol, where I currently live. Currently, my focus is putting my hand up for as many opportunities as possible while I’m here and learning from people who are doing the roles that I might want to do one day.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS, AND WHAT DREAMS ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO PURSUE?

My five-year plan seems to change every week these days, but at the moment, I will have finished my Masters, and I’m thinking about exploring health consultancy, project management or public policy work. Being based in the UK, there are so many opportunities both here and within the EU so I think that would be something that I’m excited to work towards.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO PURSUE A CAREER IN MEDICINE, SPECIFICALLY IN ANAESTHESIOLOGY?

It is the greatest medical cliche, but getting to the end of high school, I always had an idealised view of wanting to help people with my career. I also enjoyed learning about the sciences and felt like medicine was a way to combine my interests with my goals. Through my medical degree at UNSW, I undertook an elective placement in anaesthetics in Heidelberg, Germany. Anaesthetics allows me to mix problem-solving skills and applied scientific knowledge with practical and procedural skills. In addition, it is a good specialty for maintaining a healthy work-life balance which is important to me in a career.