Oluwatobi Coker: My life as a Junior Doctor

Oluwatobi is a Junior Doctor training to be a GP with the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. As a former student of Christ the King Sixth Form College, she agreed to speak to us about her experiences of college and how they helped to shape her future.

“From a young age, I enjoyed science and I quickly decided that I would want to have an academic career in chemistry or become a doctor,” she said. “Christ the King provided me with a solid platform to venture into a career of medicine. Academically, the college provided excellent teaching in the subjects that I chose.”

Oluwatobi studied A levels in Maths, Chemistry and Biology at Christ the King, as well as AS levels in Physics and Critical Thinking.

“I was constantly encouraged to do better and to aim for the top grades,” she said of this time. “Even more so, I was assisted to get work experience in a hospital of my choice which was necessary for my application to study medicine. I remember the Access to Medicine course that Christ the King offered in partnership with King’s College – which again was invaluable to the application process and getting into medicine.

“In addition, we were encouraged to be diligent in our studies which is a habit needed in medicine due to numerous exams and continuous assessments even after medical school graduation.

“After completing my A Levels I went to study the five-year medicine programme at St George’s University and graduated in 2013. My first job was in Greater Manchester as a foundation year doctor for two years. I took a year out of postgraduate training from 2015-2016. In my year out I travelled and I also worked as a self-employed Junior Doctor. I also took entrance exams in my year out which has got me into a three-year GP training programme in Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust. I will be trained to be a GP by the end.”

Oluwatobi says that the greatest challenge she has faced so far is the number of hours she has to work as a Junior Doctor, but it will all be worth it once she achieves her goals.

“For now, my goal is to become a GP,” she says. “I want to be a lecturer at a university at some point in my career, too. I also want to focus on building a family in a few years’ time.

“My advice to my fellow alumni would be to work hard now for a better tomorrow! You are never a failure unless you fail to try again.”