A FLYING medic who also works as a doctor is encouraging young women to "never give up in pursuit of their dreams" citing mental strength and persistence as the key to success.

Nicki Russell, 29, who splits her time between flying to patients in difficulty with the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) from Caernarfon and being a doctor at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, spoke out frankly about the challenges she has faced to become a medic to mark International Women's Day 2019 on Friday, March 8.

Nicki is half way through completing a year on a fellowship in North Wales.

She struggled to obtain a place at university and got into medicine on her second attempt, something she said made her stronger and more able to face the "rigour" of medical training.

North Wales Chronicle:

Nicki Russell at Glan Clwyd Hospital

Nicki said: "It’s just persistence. I did a lot of voluntary work in my year out for the Red Cross, working with children with special needs. I also worked in an oncology centre. I met so many people and I loved it.

"I think that came across in my interview second time around. I was more ready for university then. I went from having no offers the first time I applied, to four offers a year later."

Nicki, who has been working in North Wales for six months, completed her training in Bristol University and then began work as a junior doctor in hospitals in Liverpool.

She was on a pathway as a trainee anaesthetist and got through two years of her training and an initial set of gruelling exams when she decided to take a step back, unsure as to whether medicine was the right path for her anymore.

“I needed a break and to clear my head a bit," she said.

"I worked so hard in my first few years in medicine that I felt I had forgotten the reason why I wanted to be a doctor. There were all these opportunities I wanted to take but I was just so exhausted that I felt I couldn’t carry on in medicine as I was.

"I heard about Raleigh International and the expeditions they run and thought it sounded like an adventure, but also that it would remind me why I wanted to be a doctor.

"I wanted to find a bit of a work/life balance, have some adventures and then come back, feel refreshed and perform better as a doctor."

Inspired by her adventures in Costa Rica and Nicaragua where she took young people on expeditions, Nicki applied for the EPIC fellowship - Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care.

During the programme, doctors are trained in emergency medicine and providing Critical Care. They also fly out on shifts with EMRTS and provide care before the patient gets to hospital, responding to people who are very sick and helping with transfers back to the hospital.

There were six places with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), four of which were won by women.

Nicki, who is originally from the Wirral, said: "We manage to get flying quite a lot. When that call comes in, your heart goes ten to the dozen. It’s incredibly exciting and incredibly nerve-wracking but that adrenaline really helps you."

Being in North Wales has changed Nicki's life and her love of medicine.

“I would love to combine my love for medicine with my love for expeditions too, that would be the dream and ideally I want to stay in this part of the world," she added.

"When I did the fitness test for EMRTS and was running down the beach I thought, this is where I need to be because it’s just wonderful.

"The test was tough, but if I can do it, anyone can do it, the sky’s the limit. We need more women in this area of medicine. Women have so much potential but we have to have the self-confidence to go for it."