Doctor - Katie Lane
Class of 2009
Katie Lane finished school in 2009 and embarked on her journey towards medicine. She began with a science degree at the University of Queensland majoring in biomedical science. This cemented her desire to pursue medicine and she began to study for the medical entrance exams. She did her honours year, worked in research labs, took a year off, and was then accepted into medicine at Griffith University’s Gold Coast campus. She ended up sitting the GAMSAT (medical entrance exam) six times, but her perseverance paid off.
Katie is grateful for the many experiences she had whilst studying. She worked in an engineering firm, as a research assistant, in retail, and was able to study abroad as part of her science degree. Although she didn’t get in to medicine straightaway, she is thankful for the many opportunities that have contributed to her story. She recalls her overseas study experience in Vancouver, Canada. Their system is different where a science degree is completed over four years instead of three. Whilst the University of British Columbia is ranked very high in world standings, she was able to manage the load easily, leaving time to explore and enjoy the local offerings and found herself skiing in Whistler most weekends.
In 2015, Katie began her Bachelor of Medicine. This took another four years of study: three on the Gold Coast and one at the Sunshine Coast Hospital. Following this, she was ready for something different again and enjoyed an intern year in Cairns. “It was great to finally be getting paid after so many years of study.” She found the unique experience at the Cairns Hospital a bit of a culture shock. She was treating patients with diseases that she hadn’t seen before and was exposed to areas such as tropical medicine, indigenous health and refugees with unique conditions. As a first-year intern she found this challenging, but the supportive environment helped to develop her compassion and care of individuals. She completed her rotations in orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, renal medicine, general surgery and emergency.
Katie understands the importance of the depth of care for people, “and they really appreciate that a lot. My job at the moment is basically educating patients and having long conversations that other doctors don’t have time to have, such as what the heart is and how it works. Being able to have those moments with people where you spend a lot of time explaining exactly what’s going on – they always really appreciate it.” Katie is getting more confident dealing with difficult situations and enjoys the rapport and trust she is able to develop with her patients.
When asked for advice regarding a career in medicine, Katie says, “You don’t have to be a genius to study medicine. The difference between medical school and a science degree is really just a matter of perseverance. In some ways I enjoyed medicine more because you know what you are learning is relevant. And I think you don’t have to be great at chemistry or maths or physics to do medicine. I’m not very good at any of those. Once you’re actually working, it’s your human skills that people actually appreciate more, and that’s what gets you jobs in the end, that you’re a caring and good person. Obviously, you have to do the medicine, but the actual science of it is not the hardest thing about medicine when you’re a junior. What makes you good or bad in your seniors’ eyes is whether you’re personable really, and intuitive and organised.”
Katie recalls fondly her many hours spent in art class at school and her teacher, Mr Stephens. She recalls that art was a reprieve from the maths and science subjects she took. She also laughs as she remembers Year 10 drama. She was quieter back then and preferred to work behind the scenes. For one play, she was tasked with writing and directing the show, which was a surprise as “sometimes the quiet kids can get overlooked.” She was grateful for the opportunities she was given and that the teachers saw her potential. Mrs Bornhutter, now Head of Maths, played a significant part in Katie doing so well in Year 12. She encouraged Katie to reach her potential and to believe in herself which led to her thinking that, “Oh, maybe I’m actually smart enough to do medicine.”
One aspect of school life that Katie has taken into her medical career is not judging people. She remembers that people were accepted for who they were at Citipointe. “I was a nerdy kid, and I remember in Year 7, I used to bring fact books to school and read them at lunchtime . . . and my friends would always just go along with it.” Katie uses experiences like this to accept and have empathy for everyone. The more she speaks with her patients, she realises that some people have had terrible things happen to them. “You can make a huge difference just in the small things. There’s much more capacity to make a difference for the people who really need it.”
In her gap year between studying science and medicine, Katie travelled around Europe which she says taught her how to travel well. She later worked in South Africa in trauma and emergency medicine as part of her medical degree, then used her travel experience to brave a road trip through Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Congo and Namibia.
Katie’s best friends now are still her friends from school. They are spread all over the country but try to holiday together occasionally. For now, she is enjoying the growth and development in her career and encourages students to persevere and work hard to pursue their goals.
