Ashley Thomson

I grew up in Shetland, a small island north of Scotland. I completed my undergraduate training at the University of Aberdeen, graduating in 2014 with MBChB and an intercalated BSc in Medical Sciences. I went on to undertake foundation training in Jersey and Bournemouth. Following foundation training I returned home to Shetland to work in general medicine. This was an excellent clinical experience and provided me with the skills and knowledge to manage acutely unwell patients, of all ages. This exposure, provided in a remote setting, sparked my interest in acute specialties and so my next step was the ACCS acute medicine training programme in South East Scotland. I thoroughly enjoyed the training programme and my introduction to the joys of anaesthetics and critical care medicine.

More recently I have completed core anaesthetic training in South East Scotland, obtaining the Primary FRCA examination. This has given me the platform to embark on anaesthetic specialty training in South East Scotland. With a relatively diverse career to date I am committed to pursuing  dual specialty training with the addition of critical care medicine.

I am very grateful and honoured to have been awarded the opportunity to study the MSc in Critical Care at the University of Edinburgh with the scholarship support provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Completing the Critical Care MSc will hugely benefit my current clinical practice, my future career aspirations within anaesthetics and critical care medicine and the overall care that I can deliver to my patients.