"I spent a year off between school and university, doing a variety of jobs. I then studied PPE (Philosophy & Politics mainly) at Oxford for 3 years. Towards the end of this, I became interested in issues of philosophy of mind, psychology and psychiatry and decided I'd like to become a psychiatrist. I applied for a place in medical school and was accepted to start after finishing PPE.

There was a problem in that I had not studied biology (even at O level). I therefore had to take an additional course in zoology to qualify for the medical school place. I then did the preclinical undergraduate medical degree (with classmates in their first year at university). After two years of this, I then went into the clinical training years and qualified, still with the intention of pursuing a final career in psychiatry. I felt it was necessary to first obtain good general experience in medicine and some in neurology. Along the way, neurology 'seized' me! From then on, I followed the standard clinical neurology career path, undertaking a period of research in CJD. At the time, this was a 'backwater' of neurology but it (surprisingly) became an area of major clinical, scientific, economic and political importance. Hence, I have ended up in a 50:50 job, doing ordinary clinical neurology and national surveillance of/research in CJD.

Do I have any particular observations?

Firstly, there are elements of luck and chance that shape all our lives and one should not (perhaps cannot) plan all aspects of one’s career. Secondly, I was very grateful to have had 4 years doing other things between the 'cramming' of A-level science subjects and the learning demands of pre-clinical medicine.

Thirdly, I found the additional maturity on entering preclinical and clinical training of value. Both in terms of personal issues and approaches to learning.

Finally, I have never found my 'atypical' background to be a hindrance in my clinical career; rather the opposite at times: something 'different' can be a real help at interviews and I think the additional maturity also helped sometimes."