A former island resident who has just qualified as a doctor says the experiences he gained working for St John will be the basis of his future practice.

Dan Carvill who studied at Southampton University and at Barts (St Bartholemew’s Hospital) and the London Medical School, worked as an Emergency Care Assistant with the St John Emergency Ambulance Service in Guernsey between his studies.

Dan said: “I started in my first year of medical school, I always knew I wanted to focus on Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine as a speciality.”

“I’m exceptionally lucky to have worked in such a diverse service, which faces more challenges than a UK based service. The technical aspects of living on an island mean the service needs to be independent and is faced with a broad range of issues, which gave me experiences I would not have had elsewhere; from inter-island marine rescue, to coastal cliff rescue and transfer of patients to the UK for treatment.”

As well as working as an ECA alongside paramedics and technicians, Dan also volunteered as a St John Community First Responder, attending life threatening medical cases in his vicinity.

“Not only was I taught a great foundation of clinical skills for patient assessment and management by the team if excellent clinicians, I also developed skills for working in high pressure situations in unfamiliar environments – skills which I will use throughout the rest of my career”.

During his studies Dan spent time with the London Air Ambulance and working in a GPs surgery. Immediately after qualifying Dan travelled to Australia to gain more experience of working in trauma and emergency medicine in Sydney. He’s now back continuing his career in the UK.

“I hope to continue my links with Guernsey as much as possible whilst working on the mainland for the NHS. I’m really fortunate to have worked with such a great team and the experiences I have had whilst working for the service will always be the basis of my practise in the future,” said Dan.

 

Posted: September 18, 2019