When I first heard about the Saltire Scholars programme, it was in an email from the School Medicine’s president in September. This was enough to pique my curiosity. But the second email from the Filipino Society’s president was enough to tide me over to do some investigation of my own, as twice in one day was enough of a prodding from fate. (That and my gnawing boredom at continuously feeding the cycle of revising, and then forgetting the ascending and descending pathways of the central nervous system).
But enough with the waxing poetical, what was it like to work at Optos, a medical imaging company? On the borders of Dunfermline, I was an intern working within the Clinical department. This extremely hard-working and tight-knit team was handling multiple clinical trials while I was performing my literature review. This had ignited my passion to be involved in clinical trials/research, and had further cemented the importance of auditing and adhering to quality protocols to ensure patient safety and competitive results. While reading and indexing papers is a very solo endeavour, this team (and beyond) made sure to set aside time to support my work and future career.
For the clinical team, this meant teaching me PowerBI, and being open to my very many questions on the applications used. Extending into the wider multi-disciplinary team, the R&D department also reserved time to talk about possible PhD/research pathways. Also, I spent many hours looking into the fascinating hardware/software of Optomap devices with the validation team as a form of work shadowing after my project. Along with this formal network, my informal network was equally as important as my lunchtimes with my fellow interns were always the number one highlight of every day. Soon, our ‘internship hive mind’ would take root. When taking the words out of someone’s mouth from time to time, or referencing an inside joke, I always knew I had someone to turn to for support (or to share a new exciting paper - like how a Grey African Parrot bite can cause eye disease!).
It was with this support that I was able to index and report on 2500+ papers, or 12-weeks worth of work, in 10 weeks. Plus, I gave multiple, exhilarating presentations about my work in a confident and educational manner - further developing my love for public speaking. This indexing and reporting work was work that the head of the clinical team mentioned that it would take them into next year to complete if they did it on their own. So, I will paraphrase one of the key sayings from the head of management to future Saltire Scholars: ‘As much as you are gaining from the internship, (the company and its people) are also gaining something back’. So do not be afraid to work with your future team to do something new - something that you would not have thought you could do before.
Little did I know that this momentary lapse of my procrastinating habits taking over was the gateway into gaining insight into the medical devices industry that not many medical students experience. At Optos, I also learned the true meaning of synergy in workplace relationships and the importance of the collaborative process. Now looking back, my entrepreneurial and networking skills had blossomed, as before I had previously placed this second-hand to my medical knowledge. I had achieved my goals in gaining confidence in working in a corporate environment, adding to my long-winding road of employment in education, retail, warehouse and medical environments.
Here, my standards for working within a company were raised - as it became one of core values to work with management who trust in my work and my ability to overcome possible obstacles. This, I believe, is my number one (cliche) advice to give to future Saltire Scholars: just give it a go and you will find so many different doors open to you! As for me, a Saltire Scholar is someone who is willing to do the work to learn the most about life as they can.
Photo 1:
Me (seen in an Optos fleece) next to Douglas Anderson, the founder of Optos (on the left, white shirt) and Dr. Andrew Blaikie, my ophthalmology professor at the St. Andrews (on the right, blue shirt) and indirectly the reason I was able to get an internship this summer! Definitely the number one highlight of my internship!!!
Photo 2:
Me (seen in an Optos fleece) with my other interns (seen in Optos fleeces) with our main points of contact in Optos and at Saltire Scholars, including the very supportive Kelly Glass.
