"You’ve got to show love, compassion and empathy, and the rest works."
Published: 19/05/2023 10:02As NHS Grampian work to train and recruit people into a range of healthcare careers, physician associate (PA) Charlotte Watkins has been sharing her experience.
Charlotte graduated with a degree in biomedical science before doing a Masters in PA Studies at the University of Aberdeen. She says: “I am proud to bring with me the work and life experience I wouldn’t have had if I’d studied medicine as soon as I left school.”
Before the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Charlotte was studying graduate medicine in Dnipro, Eastern Ukraine. She spent time working in Mechnikov Hospital, situated in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which has served as the region’s leading tertiary care and trauma facility for soldiers wounded in the Crimea conflict. She saw shrapnel, landmine, gunshot injuries, and the long-term effects on some soldiers..
She has also been involved in various aspects of research, from autoimmune disease to Alzheimer’s avoidance, and has wide ranging experience in palliative care and alternative medicine.
Due to illness, she wasn’t able to finish secondary school, and had to be on academic probation during college. She explains: “People asked me to set lower expectations so I worked from the ground up and I am grateful for all the help from colleagues who propelled me. Whether busking on the city’s streets, or knee deep in onions at the pickle factory, to the 16-year-old me who started on a stroke rehab ward, if I had any advice it would be this:
“No job is too small, no person insignificant, so do everything with joy in your heart because you never truly know how far a little kindness goes.
“I am proud to be a qualified PA working in the emergency department, as part of the team at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. As healthcare professionals, whether we’re helping to bring new life into the world or providing end of life care, making sure families have all the support they need is crucial. You’ve got to show love, compassion and empathy, and the rest works.”
Find out more about the MSc in Physician Associate Studies.