From Medicine to ... Gin ...

Medicine to Gin…

Due to COVID-19 most of the customers from The Herbal Gin Company are local to the Newton Aycliffe area. As a result, most people know that I was a General Practitioner until recently and I changed jobs from being a medical doctor to setting up a gin distillery.

Why..?

Some people, if not many, ask this question with a degree of ‘challenge’. Why change from being a doctor, with five years at university, one year as a houseman (olden days folks - 100+ hour working weeks) another five years for post-graduate qualifications to become a qualified GP, then a Masters degree in Sports & Exercise medicine, studied for in my own time after coming home from a full time job? Not to mention training 40+ junior GP’s over 23 years. All whilst spending 16 years in the Army as a Regimental Medical Officer and 16 years in the NHS as a GP.

Many people are interested in my reasons for change and the vast majority of people have been amazingly supportive and complementary towards my change of path, Inevitably, a small number I have met since leaving medicine have been openly critical of my decision. C'est la vie.

The answer isn’t so simple - or is it?

The Author - Jordan 1998

When I was serving in the Army, there seemed to be two sorts of people leaving ‘the firm’. One would loudly moan and groan about how 'hard done to' they were, the difficulties they had encountered and how the grass was always greener on the other side of the fence.