Intended for healthcare professionals

Student People

Living for the dying

BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/sbmj.0709311 (Published 01 September 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:0709311
  1. David Metcalfe, second year medical student1
  1. 1Warwick Medical School, Coventry

Ilora Finlay is a consultant and professor of palliative medicine. She is also Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, a member of the UK House of Lords and president of the Royal Society of Medicine. She shares some thoughts with David Metcalfe

Why did you choose a career in palliative care?

I was aware of the life threatening nature of disease from a young age. My brother and my father nearly died, and in my early teens my friend's brother died of meningitis. I always have hated seeing people suffer. But as a junior doctor we had received no training in how to care for dying patients, and I still feel ashamed that we did not even know how to relieve pain adequately—many patients were simply left isolated in a hospital room to die. While working as a general practitioner I began volunteering in my spare time at a local hospice, and when an opportunity arose to set up a hospice for Marie Curie it made sense to follow what I cared passionately about. I took a leap in the dark and applied for the job.

What are the highs and lows of working in palliative care?

The buzz I get from palliative care is being able to take someone from …

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