I’ve always been passionate about the power of radio and the media in relation to health and I’ve always wanted to combine the two strands.

Before I started my medical training, I was on hospital radio at the Medway hospital in Kent for a few years from the age of 14.  My debut came  when I was given responsibility for  the ‘showbiz news’ spot – two minutes of the latest stories, probably scribbled down hastily from teletext before the page changed, given this was way before the internet was born! 

But – the real benefit was that I got to choose the record that followed my spot. I agonised over for hours over my choice – but I confess some didn’t quite hit the mark. The result was I was sent out onto the hospital wards to chat to the patients in the hospital to learn a valuable lesson - you need to know your audience! Aunty Ethel in bay 6 really wasn’t interested in hearing the latest release from INXS. This was my first experience of radio and healthcare working together!

My hospital radio experience led to my presenting the breakfast show on a local community charity radio station over Christmas 1991 when I was 17 years old! Goodness knows what we talked about back then given my worldly wisdom at the time, but I remember how much I loved doing it and discovering the warmth and connection with the audience that is so unique to radio.

My rival very different interests burned inside me. Whilst I was studying medicine, I had an interview for Children’s BBC!  In the winter of 1994 at BBC TV Centre, I remember Zoe Ball opening the door for me as I went into the office. She was lovely, and I was totally star-struck! This was just before she became mega-famous on Saturday morning TV and BBC Radio 1.

As you might guess, I didn’t get the job, but I did end up working for a company that made science programmes for schools and colleges.

In the middle of my medical studies, the medical school agreed to give me some time off to fly out to the Caribbean to film a programme about total solar eclipses. It was an amazing experience and gave me a very professional looking showreel. That gave me an interview for being a  Blue Peter presenter at the end of the '90s. So many near misses! Being the resident doctor on Radio 1 was another near miss.  I had great fun making the pilot for that, but it wasn’t to be and I’d have to wait many years until I finally made my debut on national radio. Perhaps I’m a late bloomer.

Having focussed on my medical career for  a good few years, I then started my own podcast Boggled Docs - looking to bridge the gap between the media and GPs - so doctors are ready to help their patients who might have seen or heard something on the TV or radio that worries them. That’s where David Lloyd from Boom found me and asked me to join Boom Radio before it launched over 5 years ago. After many happy years working with Jane Markham, I’m now continuing with Gary Burton, which I’m very much enjoying.

I love doing my pieces for Boom - and I smile when patients recognise my voice when I phone them or we see each other face-to-face at my surgery. What’s particularly gratifying is when I hear about listeners who've taken advice from a topic we've covered and acted on it, and it's made a big difference to their health and their lives. That really brings it back to the connection with our listeners and the power of radio.

May I say a really heartfelt thank you for letting me into your home every week to talk about the medical stories that have caught my eye. I hope you find them interesting.

Hear Doctor Nik Kendrew each Tuesday on Gary Burton's programme at 7.30pm