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Home / Rebecca Mills (Medicine, 2004)

Rebecca Mills (Medicine, 2004)



Rebecca Mills studied Medicine at Oxford before pursuing a career in orthopaedics. She has recently returned from a period of study and training in Sydney and is now combining a career in medicine with scientific research.

I was fairly hesitant about applying to Oxford – I didn’t know anyone that had been and particularly for medicine. The course was very different from other medical schools, with a heavy science focus. However, I decided to take a chance with my ‘spare’ UCAS choice and, after being randomly allocated to interview at Hertford and spending a night in the bar meeting the other candidates, I remember feeling quite certain that this was the college for me!

I am now training as an orthopaedic surgeon, a career choice I firmly believe I would never have even considered had I not been emboldened by the Hertford tutorial system, and encouraged to believe anything was achievable, no matter how competitive.

I also had no idea that studying at Hertford would open so many doors to incredible opportunities for my future career. I have just returned from 18 months in Sydney, where I was funded by the Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship to dual train as a scientist in a world-renowned orthopaedic biology and engineering lab. Here, I developed a novel model of implant-associated infection and furthered our knowledge of the mechanisms by which such devastating infections occur. I hope that my work will facilitate the development of new antimicrobial agents to improve patient outcomes worldwide. Certainly my science-focused undergraduate education gave me the confidence to take on this challenge and to value taking time out of my orthopaedic programme to train as a surgeon-scientist.

My time living in Sydney also offered the opportunity to continue the Hertford spirit of ‘having a go’ at all manner of sports, and so, naturally, I took up everything from beach volleyball at sunrise to twilight yacht racing, and even found myself enrolled in a highly competitive SUPball league – a game unique to Sydney that involves playing rugby/lacrosse on stand-up paddleboards!

To the next generation of Hertford medics, I would encourage you to embrace the very different medical education you receive at Oxford – enjoy being quizzed relentlessly in tutorials and learning to stand up for yourself. It will help you develop the confidence you need to excel in your future careers!

Hertfolk

  • A John Harrison (Modern Languages, 1938)

  • Abigail Eardley (English, 2016)

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  • Alison Young (Jurisprudence, 1993)

  • Anne Sokolich (DPhil Clinical Neuroscience, 2015)

  • Athol Williams (MPhil Political Theory, 2015)

  • Bahi Ghubril (Engineering Science, 1989)

  • Barbara McGowan (Biochemistry, 1984)

  • Brooke Johnson (DPhil Earth Sciences, 2015)

  • Carolyn Hitt (English, 1987)

  • Catherine Redford (Career Development and Outreach Fellow)

  • Chris Brooks (Chemistry, 1962)

  • Cristopher Ballinas Valdés (DPhil Politics, 2003)

  • David Haxell (Head Porter)

  • Emily Rayfield (Biological Sciences, 1993)

  • Eric Martin (Medicine, 1961)

  • Eugenie Reidy (Archaeology and Anthropology, 2001)

  • Ewen Maclean (Physics, 2006)

  • Gautam Patel (Biochemistry, 1999)

  • Grace Newcombe (Music, 2008)

  • Graham Winyard (Medicine, 1965)

  • Holly Redford Jones (PPE, 2013)

  • James Weinberg (History, 2009)

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  • Joy Aston (Biological Sciences, 2012)

  • Julian Whitehead (History, 1963)

  • Jurek Martin (History, 1960)

  • Katie Targett-Adams (Medieval & Modern Languages, 1997)

  • Kerensa Jennings (Modern Languages, 1989)

  • Lawson Lancaster (Japanese, 2010)

  • Lena Thu Phuong Nguyen (Oriental Studies, 2005)

  • Louis-David Lord (DPhil Psychiatry, 2014)

  • Lucy Davenport-Broder (English, 1991)

  • Miranda Reilly (English, 2015)

  • Nick Jefferson (Jurisprudence, 1994)

  • Norman Perrin (Engineering Science, 1948)

  • Olivia Shillabeer (PPE, 2013)

  • Paavan Buddhdev (Computer Science & Philosophy, 2013)

  • Rebecca Mills (Medicine, 2004)

  • Richard Fidler (Economics & Management, 1998)

  • Rob Williams (Jurisprudence, 1983)

  • Sam Bovill (Jurisprudence, 2015)

  • Sandy Oh (PPE, 1990)

  • Sherard Cowper-Coles (Classics, 1973)

  • Steve Frost (Geography, 1995)

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