Last week, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde welcomed nearly 300 newly qualified doctors as they began their Foundation Year 1 (FY1) training programme.
But one new recruit had a rather unusual excuse for being absent.
Instead of attending induction sessions alongside her fellow doctors, Rachel Conway was representing Team Scotland on the netball court at the Commonwealth Games.
On Monday 3rd August, the 25-year-old joins her fellow FY1 doctors ahead of her first clinical placement in cardiology, following a week competing in front of packed crowds at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro.
Originally from Edinburgh, Rachel graduated from the University of Glasgow in 2025 before spending the past year in Australia, where she was able to focus on preparing for the Games.
Inspired by her mother, who is also a doctor, she was drawn to a career that combined science with helping people.
“I love getting to connect with people and making a difference to people’s lives when it really matters,” she said.
Netball, meanwhile, has been a part of her life since primary school.
Rachel progressed through district, regional and national pathways before earning her first Scotland cap aged 17.
“I was pretty uncoordinated and think I progressed through the pathways mainly because I was tall and had some potential,” she said. “I’ve always been good at recognising my work-ons and working hard to improve.”
What was originally intended to be one more year with the national team during medical school developed into an international career spanning 37 senior caps, a World Cup and two Commonwealth Games … and competing in Glasgow has been a particular highlight.
“Nothing compares to a home Games,” Rachel said. “We’ve been competing at the Hydro this week in front of record crowds. It’s such a cool venue to play in, and the turnout and noise from the crowd has been immense.
“We have met so many young netball fans and hopefully inspired some more girls and boys to take up the sport.”
Rachel is particularly passionate about encouraging girls to stay involved in sport as they grow older and believes seeing netball fill major venues can play an important role in that.
Alongside starting her NHS career, Rachel will continue pursuing her ambitions with Team Scotland.
With Commonwealth Games competition now complete, attention will soon turn to World Cup qualifiers later this year and the Netball World Cup in Sydney in 2027.
Juggling the demands of international netball and medical school is nothing new for Rachel, and she plans to continue pursuing both as she begins her career in healthcare.
In between matches, training sessions and team commitments, Rachel has been completing online training modules and catching up on induction activities.
“I’ve been spending a lot of my free time at the Games catching up on what I’m missing,” she said. “It was always going to be a rapid turnaround from the closing ceremony and final Team Scotland celebrations on Sunday night to induction on Monday morning.”
Years of balancing elite sport and medical training have also helped prepare her for the demands of working in healthcare.
“Medicine and sport have a lot of transferable skills,” Rachel said. “Developing composure under pressure, working effectively in teams, and the ability to manage time effectively and prioritise what’s important.
“Medicine gives you excellent perspective on what is truly important and helps me realise that, even in high-pressure moments in sport, it’s never really that deep.”
Rachel hopes eventually to pursue GP training, potentially alongside work in sports medicine.
For now, though, she is looking forward to beginning her career as a doctor.
“I’m really excited and, like every other incoming FY1, a bit nervous,” she said. “After a few very busy years balancing netball and medical school, this last year away from medicine has been very restorative, but has also reminded me of how much I love medicine.”
After a week on one of Scotland’s biggest sporting stages, Rachel begins the next chapter of her journey today alongside hundreds of fellow FY1 doctors starting their careers across NHSGGC.
But while her working life as a doctor is just beginning, her international netball career is far from over.