From Veterinary A&E to Healthcare M&A
Imagine you are putting down your surgical scalpel, and exiting an operating theatre in scrubs. And the next moment, you find yourself stepping into the world of balance sheets and corporate mergers. Crazy, right? Yet, that's precisely my journey: a leap of faith from Veterinary Medicine to Economics.
The Dream and The Reality
In 2019, I embarked on my Veterinary Medicine journey with sky-high aspirations. With over 350 hours of animal work experience, I secured an offer from one of the UK's seven prestigious veterinary schools. My dedication in Year 1 earned me the Veterinary Medicine International Scholarship—bestowed solely on the top-performing international student. My life seemed perfectly aligned with my long-sought dream.
However, the landscape changed quickly and dramatically during my placement years following the COVID-19 pandemic. I realised there was a significant impediment on my road towards becoming a Veterinarian. While assisting with an enucleation surgery for a racehorse suffering from squamous cell carcinoma at the prestigious Hong Kong Jockey Club, I encountered an unsettling reality. I noticed my hands shaking uncontrollably, to a degree that is unacceptable in surgical precision. It was a stark moment of revelation: I had a genetic medical condition that would limit my manual dexterity in surgical procedures.
Confronted with this jarring truth, my dreams seemed to crumble before my eyes. The weight of disclosing this reality to those around me - my family, my girlfriend, and my professors - felt overwhelming and left me adrift, grappling with an uncertain future.
The Emotional Odyssey and Epiphany
For two gruelling months of self-searching, secluded in a small Airbnb room in Nottingham, I wrestled with two pressing questions that haunted my thoughts: Could I find fulfilment as a GP veterinarian who never sets foot in an operating theatre? Was I squandering my talents, given that I was the top student in my cohort, by even contemplating a departure from this path? Just when despair seemed inescapable, two transformative insights came my way.
In the midst of this existential struggle, a philosophy and a financial report crossed my path.
My first revelation stemmed from my encounter with existentialism - specifically, the concept of 'existence precedes essence'. This philosophical axiom served as a reminder that the meaning of my life was not pre-determined by any past experience but was something I could actively shape (More on the article: How did Existentialism change my life).
Then, a healthcare sector report from Goldman Sachs illuminated alternative career trajectories where my specialised medical knowledge could be an asset. Specifically, it enlightened me that I could leverage my Medical/STEM background to identify strategic opportunities in healthcare-related mergers and acquisitions. Also, this also meant I could translate intricate medical perspectives into language easily understood by those with a main foundational understanding of Economics or Finance.
The epiphany was liberating: I made the decision to transition to Economics and have not regretted it since.
What's next?
Looking forward, I aspire to be an Equity Research Analyst with a focus on the Healthcare sector. My goal is to leverage my domain-specific medical knowledge to identify strategic advantages and driving factors in biomedical-related M&A deals. If you are contemplating a career change, I hope my story encourages you to explore unforeseen paths. In the spirit of existentialism - where existence precedes essence - sometimes it requires a leap of faith to uncover something truly fulfilling.
