On Thursday 5 May, the Student Executive Team hosted the first Leadership Afternoon Tea for 2022. For this event, Dr Stephen Wellington gave a speech on his experience as a General Practitioner (GP) and a business owner, as well as a medical student in his early years. Dr Wellington grew up in Saudi Arabia and moved to England to train at Norwich Medical School, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2012. He trained as a GP in Norfolk and has worked as both a GP and a business owner since qualifying (MRCGP 2017). At Queen Mary's University, he completed postgraduate special interest training in Dermatology. More recently, Dr Wellington became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of GPs (FRACGP) in 2018 and relocated to Australia's Gold Coast.
Reflection from Flynn Edwards, Year 11 student
Throughout the speech, Dr Wellington described the hard work that goes into studying medicine, and the challenges of being a business owner and a GP. He made it clear that, despite being a lower achieving student during his high school years, through his hard work in university (as well as some useful flashcards, and his wife's motivating words), he was able to graduate and achieve success in the medical field today. He also reinforced the importance of being a charismatic and friendly person in order to build connections. The talk painted working in the medical field in a very realistic light but was incredibly motivational to everyone who attended. In addition to the enlightening speech, students were able to eat a variety of delicious cakes afterwards and ask any remaining questions to Dr Wellington.
Mrs Kahlia Baker
Student Leadership Co-ordinator