Retraining as a GP - Dr Lucy Obolensky

Locum GP and ED staff grade, Associate Professor Global Health and Remote Medicine University of Plymouth, previously Orthopaedic and EM registrar

I’ve been a doctor since 2003 and completed my general practice training in 2013. I took a rather convoluted route into general practice, working as an orthopaedic registrar then EM registrar first.

It was my passion for global health and remote medicine that led me into my GP pathway, and I’ve not looked back. General practice has offered me the support and flexibility to pursue my other medical interests and bring back what I have learnt into my NHS practice. 

I now work as a locum GP and ED staff grade, and Associate Professor of Global Health and Remote Medicine at the university of Plymouth leading the global health masters. More recently I’ve set up Endeavour Medical, a company that delivers training in remote medicine, leadership and global health and creates a community of like-minded health care professionals. 

Working overseas in remote and humanitarian settings has always been a big part of my career and I feel it a great privilege that medicine and general practice has enabled me to do this. The skills you learn are numerous: resilience, intercultural communication, working in teams in stressful circumstances, leadership to name just a few, and I always return to my UK practice humbled by what the NHS gives us and with even greater enthusiasm for my job. 

In 2010 I co-founded the charity Future Health Africa and through this we have won many THET grants and developed THET health care partnerships. In the last two years I have worked alongside the southwest trusts and other global health enthusiasts to develop Global Emergency Medicine Fellowships which have proved a huge success. 

In my remote and expedition work, I loved my role as senior medical advisor for the British Exploring Society and Royal Geographical Medical cell and was lucky enough to work with Sir David Attenborough for 8 years on his overseas productions. 

Although there have been huge positives in my career, there are also some challenges: leaving your family for prolonged periods and working as a locum, you can lose that sense of team and belonging, having to make challenging clinical decisions as a lone practitioner. 

Setting up Endeavour Medical has given me a fresh opportunity to share experiences, meet fascinating people with so much to offer and to encourage more health professionals to take a peek outside the usual career paths. 

At home, I’ve got a very patient husband with two young kids and we can usually be found in the sea or on a mountain. I’m a terrible cook so don’t take me up on a dinner invitation unless it involves a campfire!