Careers Explorations

Tuesday 18 June, 2019

Our Year 12 girls are in the midst of experiencing a series of Careers Explorations seminars with a range of specialists from diverse fields. Following a student survey which identified the area of most demand, the girls have nominated which seminars they would like to attend. Here is one student’s feedback from the first seminar in the series:

Today during Connect time we were lucky enough to have the company of Dr Sally Baron-Hay, who generously shared with us her experiences as an ovarian oncologist. She provided us with useful and interesting insights into both the challenges of her job such as dealing with stress and time management, as well as the many rewarding experiences it brings including the opportunities of travelling to conferences and the continual ability to learn as new research is conducted and implemented.

She also discussed the impacts that technology is having on her role and what challenges this may bring to future doctors. In particular, she explored the increasing presence of unclear or unreliable medical information online and how it can cause misconceptions and confusion for patients.

Finally, she also discussed the qualities useful in medical roles such as her own which included the importance of communication skills and the ability to connect to her patients and have empathy whilst maintaining a professional relationship. Following this she kindly allowed us to ask questions about both oncology as a speciality and the medical profession as a whole. We all found the speech and Q and A session from Dr Sally Baron-Hay very insightful and engaging and it was very useful for all of us, especially those of us considering pursuing a career in medicine, to hear from someone in the industry themselves.

The speakers, who are aligned with our Pymble Partnership program, will cover areas such as business, science, medicine, design, law, psychology, media and communications, and nursing and midwifery. They have been asked to address their career path and tertiary experience, lessons they have learnt along the way, balancing their work and family responsibilities and tips for career success.