RETURNER: making her dream a reality

Catherine Paget, mum-turned-doctor

If the thought of being a student again is daunting, try adding three kids and a divorce. Catherine Paget was a 37-year-old full-time mum, who had been out of the job market for five years, when she decided to retrain as a doctor. ‘I’d always regretted not doing medicine the first time around, but I’d lacked the confidence in my own intellectual abilities,’ she says. ‘I just didn’t want to be one of those people who thought “if only”.’

At the age of 39, Paget was accepted on a four-year graduate medical course at Southampton University (having first taken an AS-level in chemistry). ‘I was so nervous,’ she says. ‘I went to visit before I started and everyone else was there with their parents.’

With three children to bring up single-handedly (Paget got divorced midway through her degree), it took some monumental time-management skills to combine motherhood and study. ‘I burnt a lot of midnight oil,’ she admits.

The big question is, was it worth it? ‘I’ve fulfilled a dream I never thought would come true,’ says Paget, who is now a junior doctor at Winchester hospital. ‘And I think being older has definitely helped. Age brings a more holistic perspective and I can use that in dealing with the patients.’

What the judges said:
Sarah Brown: ‘Catherine’s done something extraordinary and won a huge battle to get to be what she’s become. She’s fulfilled her dream and that’s fantastic.’

Karen Mattison: ‘I really wanted a “returner”, who would make other women feel, “I could do that”. Catherine embodies that.’