Swapping Medicine for the Mountains with Anna Wells

In this episode, Dr Jen Sherman is joined by Anna Wells. Having qualified as a Doctor in the Scottish Highlands. Anna has successfully undergone a career change and now runs her own adventure guiding company in Scotland.

Anna is passionate about the mountains. The freedom of wide-open spaces and the rush of trying hard is where she is happiest. Her favourite activities are rock climbing, summer alpinism, skimo and running, with her happiest moments including completing a winter traverse of the Cullin ridge in one day, climbing El Capitan, summiting 37 4000ers in one summer, and having been fortunate to travel the world as part of the GB Ice Climbing Team.

In this episode Jen and Anna discuss:

• How her interest in climbing and mountains began
• Her academic career and how she came to study Medicine
• Her experience of being a Junior Doctor
• Why she decided to take a career break from Medicine
• How this career break evolved into a career transition
• The mental and emotional challenges of undergoing this transition
• The importance of surrounding herself with like-minded people during this time
• How she followed her passion and re-trained as an outdoor instructor
• What it’s like being a female outdoor instructor
• How and why she came to set up her own business
• Her experience of summiting 37 4000ers over one summer
• How she prepares for a big adventure
• What adventure means to her
• What adventurous experiences have taught her more generally
• Why she loves the Cullins on the Isle of Skye
• Are transferable skills always transferrable?

To connect with Anna

Website: https://rocksandtrails.com/

Email: anna@rocksandtrails.com

Instagram: @annawells89

Facebook: facebook.com/rocksandtrails