Care leaver achieves dream of becoming medical doctor

[ChrissyRyan]

Care leaver achieves dream of becoming medical doctor
Link to Full Article
Chloe Harcombe & PA Media
BBC News, West of England
24 July 2024

A woman who left school with no qualifications has achieved her dream of becoming a doctor.
Dr Becs Bradford, who was in care as a child and did not sit her first GCSE until the age of 35, has graduated from the University of Bristol with a degree in medicine.

The 41-year-old said she can draw on her own life experiences to understand patients well, and wants to help others from "non-traditional backgrounds" to achieve their goals.

Dr Bradford, who is originally from Coventry, was placed into care at the age of 12 after her father, Richard, was left paralysed in an accident and the family lost their home.

She worked as cabin crew, a personal trainer and in sales but her ambition was always to become a doctor.

She enrolled on an access to medicine course, and drove a six-hour round trip to attend lessons while juggling three jobs.  After facing several rejections from universities she secured a place in Bristol and throughout her studies taught gym classes and worked nursing shifts.

Dr Bradford said she wanted to be a role model for people from similar backgrounds and that graduating had felt "surreal" and "like a dream come true".

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