RUMS Review Vol. VIII Issue I - January 2023

Careers
Soaring
Horizons
A delve into the extraordinary journey
towards becoming an RAF Medical Officer
by Amman Ahmed
For medical students, the scope of our
future prospects can sometimes
appear daunting, but we can start to
work towards these goals and ideas
far sooner than you might expect. This
was certainly the case for Pilot Officer
Em Lloyd, a fifth-year at UCLMS and
the current Senior Student of the
University of London Air Squadron.
She has been awarded a Medical
Cadetship with the RAF for her final
two years at medical school, putting
her on the path to becoming a Royal
Air Force (RAF) Medical Officer. I was
fortunate to have the opportunity to
speak with Em about her experiences
so far on this inspiring journey, and
learn about her insights into
embarking into a military medical
career.
For Em, everything began when she
first heard about the University of
London Air Squadron (ULAS). The
largest of the University Air
Squadrons, with 90 students, ULAS
has maintained a strong presence in
London since 1935. Each year, around
30 new ULAS students, known as
Officer Cadets, are recruited to join
the RAF Volunteer Reserve, and have
the opportunity to take part in
prestigious ceremonial events, sports
trips abroad, flying training and more!
“ULAS has honestly been the
highlight of my years studying in
London,” Em says, “And you don’t
have to be planning on a military
career to get involved - there is no
commitment beyond your time at
university, and although you are
expected to attend our weekly
training nights, there is a clear
understanding that your university
course always comes first!”.
These paid weekly training nights,
known to the Officer Cadets as Town
Nights, take place every Thursday
during term-time at Yeomanry House,
near Russell Square. A wide variety of
activities are run, including sports
competitions, presentations from
guest speakers, social events, careers
advice sessions, and first aid training.
Alongside this, students benefit from
year-round flying training with the
Grob Tutor, based at RAF Wittering.
“I was lucky enough to spend two
weeks at Wittering over the summer
holidays, working through the flying
training programme - next summer,
I’m hoping to fly solo!” Em enthuses,
“Flying is absolutely amazing fun,
and you actually get paid for every
day of flying training that you do!”
As well as this, Em has had the
opportunity to represent ULAS in a
number of ceremonial events across
London. “My favourite event so far
was the Lord Mayor’s Show - it was
such a fun day, and a real privilege to
be part of.”
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