Ashray Gunjur

Name: Ashray Gunjur

Career stage: Student

Location: Melbourne

Which University are you currently attending?

I am currently attending the University of Melbourne.

What areas of medicine have you enjoyed most so far in your studies?

I’m going to go with my gut. And say neuro. Bad joke aside (I’m not sure if it was a joke, but whatever, it was bad), I don’t think I find anything as interesting as all the pathways that is the brain.

Not to mention how awesome neurosurgery seems. I can remember when I saw that live brain pulsating on the operating table, just thinking- “that’s a PERSON. Other people shouldn’t be allowed in there!”

What factors are important to you in your choice of career/specialty?

• Being able to wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work. I know it sounds simplistic, but I don’t think I can phrase that feeling in a more genuine way- let’s face it, I think a lot of us chose to study medicine because we felt like it’s something we really wanted- and would be excited- to do.
• A good mix of things. As they say, variety is the spice of life, and I’m excited by the prospects in medicine to get into academics/teaching, since I just love preaching to the masses, hehe. Not to mention that every patient is different- talk about diversity! Having a clinical practice, with perhaps a bit of research and a lot of teaching on the side, would be an ideal for me!
• Working with people. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m a pre-clin yet to be completely disillusioned (or maybe it’s because I watch too much Scrubs), but the hospital environment just seems so cool. Hundreds of people, with different roles, working together. It might be naïve, but I can’t wait till I’m into the clinical years. I can’t think of a workplace I’d rather work in, honestly.

What specialty have you chosen (or short listed) and why?

Being a 2nd year student, my time’s probably better invested living in the moment, just studying whatever comes up as equally as I can. But obviously that doesn’t happen, and in less than a month I’d gleaned everything I could from the mymedicalcareer website (then checking out the studentdoc forums!). It doesn’t even help chanting the “I’m 6 weeks behind” mantra- I still invariably look to the future, it’s just more exciting to do so!

At the beginning, I wanted to go into neurology- patients with severe problems, but with new research on the way that could let us really help their quality of life. Then it was anesthesiology (some lecturer described these guys as the ‘kings of physiology’, and y’know, I liked 1st semester physiology more than anatomy/rote learning), nephrology (physiology > anatomy/rote in 2nd sem as well), oncology (research opportunities, and once again, the opportunity to really make a difference in someone’s life!), then neurosurgery (the brain is a wicked thing), then neurology.

So I can say, in 1.5 years, I’ve already done a full circle. Oh and I also considered psychiatry in there somewhere, but figured I didn’t have the temperament (which you may have figured, hah).

What do you do outside of medicine to relax?

• Books! No not Harrisons (though it is strongly prescribed here in melb. But only in 1st year.), anything fiction or historical that’s written well. The last book I finished was ‘The Namesake’, which definitely satisfied the latter (imo)
• Gyming every odd day! This is another thing that sadly doesn’t happen, however.
• Bumming around with mates. We all do it- I think it’s something like slow-wave sleep; for some reason, it’s necessary, but no one can figure out why.

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