Doctor, doctor, have you heard about the clinician who has three Masters and is now doing a PhD in History? Read on to learn about Dr Lucy Havard (History PhD 2022) balancing her enjoyment of science with a passion for the arts and humanities.
“I am passionate about History and Medicine and couldn’t choose between the two, so I decided to try and do both…,” Lucy says.
“My aim is to have a dual career: to be a part-time consultant specialising in renal medicine, and to also be an academic historian.
“I’d really love to teach medical students intercalating in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS). I feel I can understand both sides, and can truly appreciate how the study of History can enhance a student’s ability to be a good doctor.”
Lucy embarked upon her medical degree at University College London in 2007, following A-Levels in History, English, Biology and Chemistry. She envisaged following the path of her parents, both GPs, but knew she also wanted to pursue her interest in history.
She intercalated in History of Medicine in her third year at UCL, and was based at the Wellcome Library on London’s Euston Road. She then returned to clinical training, graduating in 2013.
I am passionate about History and Medicine and couldn’t choose between the two, so I decided to try and do both
Two years foundation training in London followed, while Lucy also undertook a part-time Masters in Medical Education. In a parallel vein, she also passed the final exam to become a Member of the Royal College of Physicians. At a natural break in her medical career, following two years of core medical training prior to choosing a medical specialty, Lucy opted for a further Masters, this time in History and Philosophy of Science at UCL.
Returning to the Wellcome Library, Lucy found her interest focused on Early Modern History, circa 1500 to 1800, and specifically on the scientific activities that took place in the early modern home. This involved examining 17th- and 18th-century manuscript recipe books, a large collection of which are housed at the Wellcome. These manuscripts contain recipes not only for food and drink, but also for medical remedies, cleaning products and beauty treatments, and demonstrate the testing, trying, and experimentation that took place in the domestic environment.
In 2018, at the conclusion of her Masters and after 11 years in London, Lucy moved to Cambridge, working as an Acute Medicine Clinical Fellow at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. She still wanted to study more History, and came across the Early Modern History MPhil course at the University of Cambridge. Masters number three.
She matriculated at Lucy Cavendish College in October 2019, enjoying two terms until the Covid-19 pandemic struck. Lucy, who was working locum shifts to maintain her clinical skills, returned to working full-time in June 2020, this time in the Intensive Care Unit. The work was stressful and demanding – not helped by having to wear full PPE during a very hot summer – but it was also very fulfilling.
She combined working during the pandemic with completing her MPhil thesis, something she did with the help of an understandable extension.
A job in renal medicine at Addenbrooke’s followed, but now Lucy wanted to pursue a History PhD.
She adds: “You can apply to take time out of specialty training in medicine to do a PhD and lots of people do because medicine is fairly academic. They tend to do them in medically related subjects, not in History.”
She sought funding and belatedly received it, beginning at Gonville & Caius College in April 2022. During the delay she continued her renal specialty training at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk.
Her PhD builds on her MPhil work. She says: “My basic thesis is that the activities that took place in the early modern home on a daily basis – the skills that were practised and the knowledge that was acquired - contributed to what we understand as the scientific revolution.”
Lucy is demonstrating that it is possible to have a dual career, but she laughs after a lengthy monologue to tell her story.
She says: “There are so many twists and turns it doesn't really make sense unless I explain why I made the decisions I made, what motivated me, and what I want to achieve at the end of it all.”
Photo credit: Nordin Catic
Medicine is not always flexible, says Lucy, who advises medics to pause for thought once in a while.
“From school, you are almost conditioned into thinking that there are all these hoops you have to jump through for medicine,” she says. “Not just in applying for medical school, but also during the medical degree itself. Then once you’ve graduated, there are postgraduate exams, appraisals, clinical and educational reviews of progress…
“’Medicine can be a bit like an escalator: only moving in one direction. It can feel like you have to keep going, you can’t step off.
“Sometimes stepping off that escalator for a moment, trying to achieve some perspective, can be a good thing. I think it does help prevent burnout and it gives you something outside of the medical world.”
Lucy has many interests, particularly sport. She was a trialist for Cambridge University Boat Club in 2022-23, rowing in the spare pair on The Tideway.
Her background in cycling led to strong scores on the indoor rowing machines, but, having only had cumulatively one year’s rowing experience prior to trialling, her technique was “horrendous” on the water.
“I was the oldest and the shortest openweight rower, by quite a way,” says Lucy, who hopes to trial again ahead of the 2024 Boat Race.
“I found it really hard because I knew I had this potential from the erg scores, but being able to translate into speed on the water was difficult. The technique side of things started to click about three weeks after the Boat Race!”
She remains on the on-call rota for renal medicine and knows balance is key.
She adds: “In my mind, being a good doctor doesn't necessarily mean getting top marks in an anatomy exam. Actually, medicine is about a lot more than that.
“To practice good medicine, you need to understand human nature and why people do the things they do. History is great for that.”
