Anna Pathmanathan

What does a typical day in your current role look like?

I am currently doing a PhD at the University of Bristol, as part of the Medical School. In this work I am investigating health inequalities in Primary Care, but specifically I am investigating differences in antibiotic prescribing and respiratory health for patients from different ethnicities, to understand how we can improve population health.

My typical day involved me conducting interviews with healthcare professionals and patients to understand their experience of either providing or receiving care in GP surgeries. I also conduct statistical analysis on healthcare records, such as prescribing records, diagnosis of respiratory conditions, and hospitalisation statistics to look for patterns and highlight differences between patients from different ethnicities.

What was your biggest achievement during your course?

My biggest achievement was gaining confidence. Before doing my degree I was a very shy person. I never would have volunteered to speak at an event, or even present to a group of people. But through my time at Birmingham I gained so much confidence in myself and my ability, and my outgoing personality has become an integral part of who I am.

What are your top tips for students graduating today?

My top tips for students who are graduating today are to not worry. Sometimes getting a job after university can be quite intimidating. Its seems like everybody is applying to all these intense graduate schemes. However, there is no point churning out applications if they are poor quality. Focus on applying to opportunities which intrigue you, and aren't necessarily the exact job you imagined yourself doing. People find their way to the thing they were meant to do and if you don't get the ideal opportunity straight after university, it doesn't mean you aren't going to get that job in the future.