• Question: I am an aspiring doctor, who loves rowing and currently train sixteen hours a week, do you think that I can balance a medical degree / being a doctor with sporting commitments?

    Asked by Dom Smith to Ceri, Marikka, Matt, Rob, Sally on 7 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Sally Cutler

      Sally Cutler answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      Hi, I think the key thing you mention here is balance! Medicine (and other degrees) are hugely demanding on your time and you will be expected to do much of your work independently, so you will need to organise your life to give time to balance both academic and recreational activities. Good luck!

    • Photo: Ceri Dare

      Ceri Dare answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      Well, people do so it is possible, but it will be difficult, and you will have to make choices about what is important to you. You might want to read about Cheri Blauwet who is a medical doctor and a Paralympic athlete: https://www.aamc.org/students/aspiring/inspiring-stories/280742/cheriblauwet.html

      But remember that it’s important to look after yourself as well as achieve things. To be happy I need time with my friends and my partner, as well as being a scientist and running marathons.

    • Photo: Robert Hampson

      Robert Hampson answered on 7 Nov 2014:

      I have known many people who are successful at many things whilst also being or training to be a medical doctor. I met several people doing more than 10 hours of rowing each week in Oxford at a highly competitive level whilst still managing to complete all their work and graduating with good degrees.

      However, just because it is possible doesn’t mean you will necessarily want to do it when you get there. Many of the rowers would be out of the house well before 6am to go and train in the gym or on the river. It depends how much you want to row, how much you want to be a doctor, how much energy you want to spend in a given day, and how much energy you actually have to give. You end up making choices about your priorities in life as you go along and these shape what your life looks like in future. If you get into medical school, maybe you decide its all too much, then you could still swap to a less intense course or do less rowing…

    • Photo: Matt Bilton

      Matt Bilton answered on 8 Nov 2014:

      There were lots of people at university with me who found time for rowing and all sorts and still stayed on top of their work, and some who had no extracurricular hobbies and struggled a bit. So long as you’re prepared to work hard anything is possible. There are only so many hours in the day though, so at some point you may need to prioritise! Until then stick with it and good luck to you.

    • Photo: Marikka Beecroft

      Marikka Beecroft answered on 11 Nov 2014:

      You have to balance your time well and also you have to be realistic with what you can achieve in the time you have. I did sports at university but my degree wasn’t medicine it was microbiology so I believe I had more time on my hands then you will. The main thing I had to do was prioritize what was important that needed to be done in my free time (coursework, reports etc.)

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