The Sydney to London Switch
Rabia Khalique is in the unusual position of having transferred between two different countries to complete her medical degree. But which one does she like better and why?
- By: Rabia Khalique
“You must be mad!” This was the frequent response to my revelation that around eight months ago I transferred from studying medicine at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia to complete my clinical years at Guy's, King's, and St Thomas's in London.
I was marrying a Briton and had to move to London so that we could be together. My circumstances were highly unusual, to say the least: I was able to secure an international transfer without repeating any of what I had already done.
Since then, I have spent many days wandering the corridors of London hospitals, comparing them to those I knew in Sydney; speaking with my new colleagues, thinking how different they are to the ones I left; and getting used to the NHS, compared with Australia's Medicare.
Getting into medicine in Sydney is a little different to here. We have a higher school