Bridget’s road to medicine

Having graduated in 2023, former College Captain Bridget Hardy now finds herself immersed in a new adventure, studying medicine in tropical Cairns.

We recently caught up with Bridget to find out more about life, post school, and what she’s enjoying most about the university experience (along with advice she’d give to others about to commence their own journey).

Beyond celebrating her achievements so far – and her warm and welcoming character – we hope Bridget’s story serves as inspiration for anyone looking to pursue a pathway into medicine.

DIRECTION DRIVERS

“Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to be a doctor,” explains Bridget.

“My dad was a paramedic and I’d always thought – I want to do something like that.”

By age nine, the desire to pursue this pathway was cemented when family circumstances saw Bridget gain a very personal insight into the world of medicine.

“My dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 – he’s well now but was very sick at the time and I remember seeing all the doctors in the hospital, watching the amazing work they were doing.

“It was a tough time and an eye-opening experience, but it really cemented the direction I wanted to take,” says Bridget.

Since commencing her degree at James Cook University (JCU), Bridget has come to learn that personal experience is often a strong driver in the decision to study medicine.

“A lot of people I talk to, my peers, they all say medicine is not something you one day decide to do, there is usually some sort of influence that makes you want to pursue it and that’s certainly been the case for me.”

REGIONAL RUNS DEEP

Bridget’s choice to study at JCU has also been driven by her regional roots and a desire to work outside of major city centers.

“Having grown up in Warwick, I wanted to continue learning in more of a regional area. I’d heard a lot about JCU and their focus on rural placements, so that was of appeal to me,” says Bridget.

“Most of the placements I’ll do over the next five to six years will be in rural areas, and for longer periods, and that’s exactly what I want.”

It’s clear, when chatting with Bridget, that ‘community’ is a value she holds in high regard.

“I love the sense of community that comes with living regionally, everyone sort of knows everyone else and there’s a real focus on relationships,” says Bridget.

“If I think to the future, and what I’d like to do with my career, building relationships becomes really important.

“People living regionally put so much trust in their health care workers and there’s not always many of them and I’d like to be able to contribute back to communities in this way.

“So far we’ve been learning about all the usual – genetics, the muscular skeletal, endocrine and reproductive systems, but we’ve also recently completed a unit on health disparities in Australia.

“I’ve been lucky to not experience these personally, but learning more about the disparities that exist was a real eye-opener.

“There’s a lot more homelessness than we realise and access to care in regional areas, particularly aged care, can be quite a challenge, thanks to accommodation and health care worker shortages.

“Knowing all this has only further cemented my desire to work regionally.”

UNIVERSITY LIFE AND TIMELY ADVICE

 Reflecting on the last 12 months, Bridget admits that moving from school to university is a big transition and yet, time has flown by.

“When I saw all of the Year 12s graduating late last year I couldn’t believe it!

“I’m really loving Cairns, but it is so different to Warwick; I miss home and funnily enough, I miss school – and my friends.

“You get so used to seeing each other every day, it feels strange not to.

“I know my close group of friends feel the same, but we all recently caught up at the Warwick Races and it was like nothing had changed; it’s been so nice to maintain those connections.”

For Bridget, the biggest shift from school to university was around structure.

“The university timetable and experience is structured so differently to school; the way I study is different and there’s not as much guidance around what you need to know and learn.

“As a result, you can find yourself falling down so many rabbit holes; knowing where to start is often the challenge.

“In saying that, a lot of the lesson plans are set out in a very similar way to school, so that’s been helpful.”

When asked about the advice she’d give to Senior School students sitting at the start of this journey, Bridget is quick to respond – ‘utilise the resources you have and build your relationships’.

“When I was in Senior School, my teachers really guided me; they knew I wanted to do medicine and because of this, they were able to give me a lot of guidance around what I needed to do to make it happen.

“I feel that’s the beauty of coming from a small school; you have beautiful relationships with your teachers (and your peers) and they really get to know you as a person.

“Over the last 12 months, self-sufficiency has become incredibly important; but I think I’ve been able to build this skill as a result of the support I’ve had.

“If you can ensure you’re maintaining those relationships but becoming independent at the same time, I think this really sets you up for the transition.”