15 minute interview - Head girl
BMJ 2006; 332 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0603109 (Published 01 March 2006) Cite this as: BMJ 2006;332:0603109
MARK THOMAS
Are there any other doctors in the family?
I come from a medical family. My father was a cancer specialist. My three siblings are general practitioners. My great great great grandfather, Joseph Jackson Lister, invented the bichromatic microscope and his son was Joseph Lister. My mother complains that meals were ruined by medical conversations; she rather dislikes doctors as a breed, although I think she's quite impressed that her children became medics.
Did you ever fight against going into medicine or did it just seem the natural thing to do?
I've always claimed that I wanted to be a doctor at the age of 7. My father was rather horrified that all of us went into medicine and maybe we'd been pressured to do so. When it came to my doing three science A levels he said you can always be a vet. I've also always wanted to write. It wasn't that I was particularly good at science; I rather …
Log in
Log in using your username and password
Log in through your institution
Subscribe from £184 *
Subscribe and get access to all BMJ articles, and much more.
* For online subscription
Access this article for 1 day for:
£50 / $60/ €56 (excludes VAT)
You can download a PDF version for your personal record.