Raymond McCrudden Part-time Doctorate of Medicine in Biomedical Sciences, 2010

Consultant Physician in Gastroenterology at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Hi, I'm Raymond McCrudden and I studied Part-time Doctorate of Medicine in Biomedical Sciences within Medicine at the University of Southampton.

It was a great privilege to study Medicine at Southampton as the University is a major player in research in the UK

Completing my Doctorate of Medicine in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Southampton has helped me realise my ambition of becoming a Consultant Physician in Gastroenterology.

As I was a mature student I decided to take a part-time course whilst continuing to be on call as a doctor and taking clinics.

For my research project I focused on investigating the role of a tissue inhibitor in liver fibrosis.  This involved culturing live cells from livers and pancreases.  The work was extremely hard and involved research going on into the evenings but I had excellent support from my colleagues and clinical supervisors.

For all medics who are aiming to become consultants the road is hard and I found challenges with the work-life balance.   As well as studying, I had a busy schedule as a clinician.  I also got married in my second year of research and a year later we had our first son.

Whilst this was an extremely busy time for me in terms of clinical work, research work and family life, it really was a special time and I would not have had it any other way.

I now work at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and lead my own team of consultant physicians.

It was a great privilege to study Medicine at Southampton as the University is a major player in research in the UK.  Overall I can warmly recommend Southampton as a university.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time studying in such a refreshing and stimulating environment.