Harry Gibson is a Doctor of Medicine student. He'll graduate in 2025. He hopes to work in retrieval medicine or Intensive Care Units — passions he discovered during overseas placements while studying at Bond University.
Harry Gibson always dreamed of being a doctor. The adults he met who were doctors were intelligent, caring and active members of his community. But being like them felt like a huge step for a kid from rural Victoria. That all changed when he relocated to the Gold Coast to begin a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Bond University.
“I loved science so much at school. Coming to Bond reinforced that passion and I realised medicine was 100 per cent for me,” he says.
“It’s a career that has an intellectual and challenging side. It involves science and involves a high level of socialising with others. That’s what really resonated with me.”
Harry transitioned to Bond’s Medical Program which comprises two sequential degrees: the Bachelor of Medical Studies followed by the Doctor of Medicine.
Placements began almost immediately. From general medicine at Robina Hospital, to obstetrics and paediatrics, Harry’s placements would become the most memorable experiences of his studies. The program allowed the flexibility to arrange an elective in the United Kingdom where Harry discovered his areas of passion.
Triage and transplants
Harry’s first elective placement was with Imperial College Healthcare in London. He spent six weeks working in the fast-paced emergency department of Charing Cross Hospital and doing overnight shifts with London Ambulance Service.
“Working in a busy emergency department in such a big city was a very different experience to my placements back home. There was a lot of scope to improve my skills, and I had the opportunity to see some things that might not happen as often in Australia,” he says.
Harry also got to work with the Major Trauma team at the Royal London Hospital where people are flown in by rescue helicopters.
“It’s a high-pressure environment where you are seeing critically ill or injured people who often have some pre-hospital treatment or surgery,” he says.
“It was cool to be part of a team that helps people in their worst hour, and I realised retrieval medicine is something I want to do in my career.”
“I’m naturally a relaxed person so I enjoy a challenge and fast-paced environments, and I could make a big difference to a person’s life.”
Harry had returned to Australia with grand stories of his overseas adventure when he received an acceptance letter from another placement program — back in the United Kingdom!
Unable to turn down a second opportunity to broaden his horizons, this time with the esteemed Cambridge University Hospitals, Harry packed his bags.
The placement consisted of hepatology and renal ward rounds, time in a transplant clinic, organ retrievals, and countless hours in theatre. Harry helped surgical teams in liver, kidney and multivisceral transplants as well as gastric bypass surgeries.
“I was fortunate to get that second elective placement as it offered experience that not a lot of medical students can get,” Harry says.
“I assisted complex operations that sometimes took 16 or 17 hours.”
“They were keen to get me involved. It was a niche experience.”
Harry’s most valued experience in Cambridge was witnessing patient journeys from pre-transplant to theatre to post-transplant.
“In the post-transplant clinic, I got to speak to patients who ranged from one-week post op to a woman who was 38 years post her liver transplant,” he says.
“My placement reinforced the good medicine can do. It was amazing to see somebody who had a massive intervention that gave them 38 years of their life back. And they were thriving.”
“I had never seen something like that in my life that had made such a significant difference to a person.”
Ready for the real world
Harry is set to graduate from Bond in June 2025.
“I felt a lot of responsibility through my placements which brought me a lot of confidence. With each placement, I understood the job better and grew more competent.
“I never thought I would be here, but I feel ready to become a doctor.”
Harry says he wouldn’t feel that way without the people who encouraged him at every step.
“I had a lot of support in setting up both of my elective placements and the Student Opportunity Fund was incredible in making my first placement possible,” Harry says.
“My lecturers have always had time for me."
Harry also worked at Bond University as an Assistant Teaching Fellow. He put his student experience to work by assisting younger students in the lab and provided tutorials after their lectures.
“As a biomed student, sometimes you question how theory is relevant, and it was cool to tie something back to a practical experience I had through the medical program or my earlier placements,” he says.
Ready for the real world
Harry is set to graduate from Bond in June 2025.
“I felt a lot of responsibility through my placements which brought me a lot of confidence. With each placement, I understood the job better and grew more competent.
“I never thought I would be here, but I feel ready to become a doctor.”
Harry says he wouldn’t feel that way without the people who encouraged him at every step.
“I had a lot of support in setting up both of my elective placements and the Student Opportunity Fund was incredible in making my first placement possible,” Harry says.
“My lecturers have always had time for me. One that comes to mind is Dr Neelam Maheshwari.”
Harry also worked at Bond University as an Assistant Teaching Fellow. He put his student experience to work by assisting younger students in the lab and provided tutorials after their lectures.
“As a biomed student, sometimes you question how theory is relevant, and it was cool to tie something back to a practical experience I had through the medical program or my earlier placements,” he says.
Strong bonds
Harry says he has friends at other universities who tell him they would have picked a different university if they had their time over.
“I would never change my experience,” he says
Harry’s advice to other young medical students is to figure out the areas of medicine that they feel passionate about and pursue opportunities that align.
“If you really enjoy a particular area of medicine, you aren’t restrained by what you’re learning in class. There are opportunities out there that will allow you to grow your skills further, and there are people at Bond who want to help you do that,” he says.
“Find what you love and make that a priority in your life.”
Published on Wednesday 26 March 2025.
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