From Doctor to Diplomat: Dr. Ruby Wang on Breaking Free from Medicine's One-Track Career Path

Dr. Ruby Wang’s career is a testament to the power of thinking beyond the traditional medical path. Trained at Cambridge, she is now a health strategist, writer, and founding director of a consultancy, with roles spanning the FCDO, UN, and the Royal Society of Medicine.

The Narrowness of Medicine

Wang found medicine’s one-track culture limiting. An internship at Christie’s and involvement in the BMA strikes opened her eyes: “I need to go beyond just practising and go to the management level, to the policy level.”

Diplomacy and China

A Schwarzman Scholarship at Tsinghua University helped her reconnect with her Chinese roots. She then became Head of Health at the British Embassy in Beijing, navigating diplomacy during COVID. “As soon as China opened, I flew one way, one suitcase, and had no idea what was going to happen.”

Skills That Transfer

Wang emphasizes that communication skills from medicine—breaking bad news, negotiating—are invaluable in diplomacy and policy. “Sometimes job opportunities are not about applying for something that’s there. You ask for it, you push for it, and then you get it.”

Still a Doctor at Heart

She continues to practise occasionally, finding it meaningful and useful for her consulting work. “I hope she’d be very happy and proud.”