Medicine (Standard Course)

Elizabeth is a Fellow and Director of Clinical Studies at Lucy Cavendish. She works in the School of Clinical Medicine, where she is responsible for delivery of the Professional Responsibilities curriculum (ethics & law, reflective practice, teaching skills, leadership & management, multi-professional team-working, patient safety and personal development). She is a Medical Member of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health), having previously worked as a Consultant Psychiatrist in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust where she specialised in rehabilitation psychiatry for people with severe and enduring mental ill-health. She also sits on the Psychology Research Ethics Committee, the University Research Ethics Committee and the Approved Clinicians appointment panel for the Midland & East of England, and is an Associate of the Centre for Law, Medicine & Life Sciences in the Faculty of Law.

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Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon CUH NHSFT (Facial deformity surgery, craniomaxillofacial trauma, paediatric maxillofacial surgery, dentoalveolar surgery and skin cancer of the head and neck).
Senior Anatomy Demonstrator at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and Surgical Tutor for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Surgical Tutors are responsible for providing leadership to surgical trainees in a trust or hospital, where they undertake a key role in supporting and demonstrating good governance of surgical training matters. The Surgical Tutor also provides a link to the relevant Regional Board for the RCS, where their role is to advise their Regional Director of service and educational issues affecting surgeons in their trust. The appointment is tripartite between the School, the trust and the RCS.

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I am originally from Latvia and completed a BSc in Life Sciences at Queen's University, Ontario prior to my arrival at Lucy Cavendish as an affiliated student. When you have such an extensive network of people looking after you (Tutors, Supervisors, Director of Studies) it is almost impossible to fall into trouble. I have been overwhelmed by the quality of teaching, unlimited resources, and fantastic extra curricular opportunities in the field of medicine. My Director of Studies introduced me to great doctors affiliated with the College who then took me into operating theatres and provided extra teaching in my pre-clinical studies. I witnessed a kidney transplant three years before my classmates. If you are someone who is passionate about your subject and are willing to ask questions and explore outside the classroom, Cambridge is the place to be.

Why did you decide to study Medicine?

In a nutshell, I chose Medicine because I love people, am awed by the complexities of the human body, and find fulfilment in challenges. I was born with a clubfoot and have personal experience of how healthcare can improve quality of life, and am excited to be a small part of that service for others!

And why Medicine at Cambridge?

One of the reasons I applied to Cambridge was because of the dissection, an incredible and uncommon opportunity. I remember standing in awe as I held my donor’s heart which had been beating for almost 100 years! The supervisions are also unique and exciting, providing a space to get support on things you don’t understand and be stretched into new ways of thinking. One of my favourite quotes from a supervisor was him describing a protein being made on a ribosome as ‘making a pea on an orange’!

How did you find applying for your course?

Applying for medicine involves a lot of hoop-jumping and I found it very stressful to balance alongside A levels. Look ahead early at what you’ll need to do and research local opportunities which will help your application, particularly if your school doesn’t offer a lot. For example, I was able to go to York university for a mock interview session. A little top tip I was told is to include your UCAT score in the SAQ which Cambridge sends you (a little form for extra information).

How have you found the college system?

The college system is fantastic! There’s such a community feel and it’s a lot easier to make friends. I love having a close medic family at Lucy to ask for advice from, study and relax with (we had a potluck dinner a few weeks ago!) It’s really nice to meet people as you go around college and stop for a quick chat. It also means that supervisions, the gym, library, café and food hall are all really close to each-other!

What advice would you give to someone thinking of studying Medicine?

My main piece of advice is to make sure that you really want to study medicine because it is a tough degree and a tough application process, which will only hurt you if your heart isn’t in it. Once you have decided, research what medical schools look for in applications and play to your strengths, because it’s very competitive!

I worked on a medical drama series at the BBC before taking A-levels and coming to Lucy Cavendish, where I was the first MIT exchange student. Initially I wanted to be a scientist, but became more interested in medicine by working as a volunteer at nursing homes & hospices. I decided to take a gap year and work as a carer at nursery homes in Adelaide, Australia. I am now a Surgical Registrar. My intention was always to be a transplant surgeon.  Many older medics are put off surgical training because of its length and intensity.  I have always felt very strongly that being a little older should not be an impediment in choosing a speciality - the sacrifices we make as mature trainees are often great and to compromise on career choice because of age seems a shame.  I have always loved Medicine, from the first day at Lucy Cavendish, to the present chaos of managing a house move and a heavy on-call rota. Lucy was the perfect environment for me to grow and develop my interests and aspirations and I will always be grateful for its nurture through the early years.

I chose Lucy Cavendish, and believe that was the best decision for me. All staff and members are supportive including the porters and catering and cleaning staff. The dining hall is always filled with such a friendly atmosphere. Most of the preclinical supervisions are organised at Lucy Cavendish, although I went to some other colleges for some supervisions during my first year to see supervisors from other colleges. They were all very experienced good teachers and all of them set essays to best prepare us for Tripos. Clinical supervisions were mostly practical teachings held at hospitals, and I was grouped with medics from other colleges.

Since 1981 Dr Webster has been self-employed as an itinerant pedagogue teaching a range of biological and biochemical subjects to a variety of students at a range of educational establishments.

He has taught A level Biology, firstly at some Cambridge private colleges e.g.C.C.S.S. and then for about 20 years at Hills' Road Sixth Form College. He was also a part-time Open University tutor/associate lecturer on 2nd and 3rd level courses and demonstrator, tutor, senior tutor and course director at O.U. Summer Schools for almost 30 years. 

Dr Webster is now retired from all but the supervising which he still does for Clare, Christ's, Robinson, St. Edmund's, Sidney Sussex and Lucy Cavendish so he is now in his 46th continuous year as a supervisor. Dr Webster has been supervising the single medic Lucy Cavendish then admitted (in what was a total intake in all subjects of 17) since about 1981 or thereabouts, and has continued to do so ever since (not forgetting the vets who came on board soon after).

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Joy studied medicine at Cambridge (Jesus College 2007-13), graduating with distinction in pathology. She undertook specialist postgraduate training in histopathology (Addenbrooke’s and Peterborough City Hospitals). In 2019 she was admitted as Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, and in 2020 gained the Certificate of Higher Autopsy Training. She was appointed to the position of Consultant Haematopathologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in 2021; her work involves diagnosing lymphoid and bone marrow disorders. Joy has a strong interest in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and fulfils various roles across local, regional, and national levels. She was awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education in 2021 from the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education.