Claudia Lewis
Claudia Lewis has long held a dream of becoming a doctor – “throughout my childhood I was fascinated by the human body – how things go wrong and how to fix them”. She has been offered a place in Medicine but has deferred this for a year in order to complete a BBiomedSc(Hons) degree in Infection & Immunity – working on a project that may eventually aid in the development of a vaccine to treat tuberculosis.
This deferral was an easy choice for Claudia as “the knowledge and experience I am gaining during my Honours year will far outweigh the additional costs”. Claudia also loved the summer project she was able to do at the end of her third year and this, combined with her Honours study, has really opened her eyes to the opportunities available in clinically-focussed research. Perhaps the biggest surprise so far has been to discover that lab work is not lonely and isolating, but takes place in a vibrant and collegial team! The journal clubs and research presentations provide plenty of opportunities for people interactions, and this experience will be invaluable when it comes to patient contact.
The BBiomedSc programme – with its wide range of human-focussed papers – really appealed to Claudia. She chose the Infection & Immunity major as she wanted to broaden her horizons and take something that seemed a little different to the papers in Health Sciences First Year. She has never regretted this choice and believes that her BBiomedSc experience will not only prepare her well for Medicine, but will also give her the edge for specialty training – perhaps in Paediatrics or Oncology.
Claudia's advice to other students is “don't stress about your choice of major. Choose something that you love and don't worry about what comes after your degree – the options are wide open”.