Surgical exams to re-examining life goals: Dr Albert Wu's story

After passing his exams for general surgery, Dr Albert Wu came to a surprising – and life-changing – conclusion: he didn't want to be a surgeon.

He wanted to make a difference differently, and Medrecruit were there to help.

Hitting a career crossroads

"I felt by passing the exam I'd proved something. But if I had the experience again, I probably would have considered getting out of it a bit earlier."

"In my head, there was always the importance of having that balance in terms of lifestyle."

"I wasn't sure I would find that in the surgical specialty. It takes a special kind of dedication. So, I decided to start again basically."

Finding a new challenge in General Practice

After talking with a range of doctors in different specialties, Albert settled General Practice as his new specialty.

"There many factors involved, but essentially it was the work/life balance.

"I also have always respected this specialty as one of the most difficult ones. You have very limited time and information to make those judgment calls. And, if you miss something, it can be quite devastating."

Creating a new career pathway

With a new direction in mind, Albert needed to get into a GP training programme, and that's when he contacted Medrecruit.

"I was missing the necessary paediatric and obstetric gynaecological type training to apply to the programme,

"That's when I caught up with Medrecruit, and they got me a role in Waikato,

"I think Medrecruit has that ability to find that kind of thing for you and support you, which is really fantastic."

More change in the future

Now in his final year of GP training, Albert is also studying an MBA part-time at Auckland University.

"I'm thinking about transitioning out of clinical to do something more on the management side. I'm doing an MBA, so I can hopefully make a difference on a bigger scale.

"I'm not really sure how big of an impact I can have, but I want to ensure that there is a better clinical practice environment.

"I'd like to work in between clinical and management, and be an advocate the health professionals perspective, and greater collaboration."