Pamela Hardy: the pre-hospital specialist
BMJ 2018; 360 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k784 (Published 06 March 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;360:k784
- Anne Gulland
- BMJ Careers
Having grown up in Nottingham, Pamela Hardy is now an emergency care consultant in the north of Scotland. Her “life’s too short” attitude has led to a hugely varied career and meant she has done things she never thought possible.
Early life
I went to a comprehensive school on a council estate in Nottingham where it wasn’t really “the thing” to go to university. I was planning to do midwifery training when someone suggested I do medicine. I was relatively bright at school but worked hard because I was bullied. I didn’t get in first time round and had to re-sit my A levels. When I got my results, I ran down the road after my dad, who was on his way to work as a mechanic, to tell him that I was going to medical school. I’ve always had incredible support from my parents and family.
Feeling useless
After initial training in paediatrics I moved back to Nottingham and started doing a mixture of adult and paediatric emergency. It was during this time that pre-hospital care was developing. Like so many people who got involved in the specialty in …