Hello and a very warm welcome – thank you for joining me!
My name is Lorna and I am a practising GP registrar with an interest in Public Health and Lifestyle Medicine. I also harbour a love of writing and all things creative.
A Scottish girl, born and bred, I studied Medicine for 5 years at the University of Edinburgh and graduated in 2015. I then completed my 2-year Foundation Training Programme (junior doctoring) in NHS Tayside and moved to New Zealand for 18 months with my partner, where I mostly worked in Emergency Medicine, expanding my medical knowledge and skills while exploring such a beautiful country. After much deliberation, we decided to return to the UK to complete our specialty training… And here I am, back in the motherland and training to become a GP!
Why have I created this site?
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory disease and some cancers. They develop over a long period of time, cannot be transmitted from one person to another and are largely lifestyle-related and preventable through the choices that we make every day. They are the conditions that I see on a daily basis in my job and are now the most common cause of death across the globe.
When I was young, I loved sports and was a Scottish champion for Long Jump and medalled in various other regional and national athletics events. As my studies began to intensify, I lost interest in my sporting endeavours in favour of studying and the other things that teenage girls can become distracted by… But after working as a doctor, I have come to the realisation that medical academia and exercise did not need to be – and should not be – mutually exclusive.
It was during my time in Emergency Medicine that I had my lightbulb moment and became increasingly passionate about what I plan to do here. I was seeing these same conditions in different patients and that single snapshot of diagnosis and treatment, although important at the time, seemed to be only a drop in the ocean. I wanted to be able to do more for more people…
Social media and the internet has now become a constant presence and an integral part of our daily lives. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of medical misinformation out there and when patients consult the often-misleading ‘Doctor Google’, it can often hurt more than it helps.
My mission statement:
I want to use my scientific knowledge and dependable sources to bring forward evidence-based medical information that is digestible, reliable and accessible from your home. With this message, I hope to be able to reach as many of you as possible in order to make the biggest difference – this is exactly why I went into Medicine. Looking at the big picture, I hope to empower people to take control of their health and make positive steps towards wellness! In addition, as a busy health professional, I aim to learn more about how to maintain my own work-life-health balance around a hectic work schedule along the way.
I would be honoured if you would consider joining me on this journey. If you would like to ask me anything or make any suggestions for topics you are interested to hear about, please feel free to send me a message. I hope to see you around these parts and in the meantime… Keep well!
“Walking is man’s best medicine.” – Hippocrates