An Army helicopter engineer who “felt helpless” after witnessing the horrors of war in Afghanistan has made a dramatic career change to become a doctor.
Nick Smith spent six years as an Apache aircraft technician but decided to leave after a “heartbreaking” six-month tour in Afghanistan during which he saw friends and colleagues killed or injured.
The 25-year-old corporal, who did not take A-levels, won a place to study medicine at Southampton University after completing a college course in London designed for older students. He will start his medical degree less than 12 months after leaving the Army.
He said: “I was considering a change of career but the key thing that made me make that decision was losing guys out there. I had to go to a few funerals and felt helpless and I wanted to change that.
“I decided very quickly that I had to become a doctor and learn about medicine in order to help people in serious need.”
Mr Smith spoke out to highlight the course at City and Islington College that helped him fulfil his dream of getting into medical school. The Access to Medicine and Medical Bio Science course gives mature students the knowledge they need to get on to university degree courses in just one year.
Instead of studying for A-levels in science subjects, students learn the medically-relevant parts of those courses in an intensive year-long course.
Daniel Norris, who designed the course, said: “The wonderful thing about this course is in one year you can completely alter the trajectory of your life.”
He said 80 per cent of students secured a university place.
Mr Smith, originally from Bristol, joined the Army at the age of 19 after failing to complete his A-levels. He wants to specialise as a hospital accident and emergency doctor.
