A medical doctor on the airwaves and a radio DJ in scrubs – what could go wrong?
Dr Ranj: I’m Dr Ranj, I’m a doctor working on the front line and I’ve just agreed to do a job swap for BBC Bitesize Careers.
Charlie Tee: I’m Charlie Tee a DJ and broadcaster on BBC Radio 1 and I’m going to be swapping jobs with Dr Ranj.
Charlie Tee: While I’m waiting here for Dr Ranj to come and meet me, I’m going to have a little look on the BBC Bitesize Careers website, to actually see what careers in healthcare involve.
Charlie Tee: Oh, hi, Dr Ranj!
Dr Ranj: Hi!
Charlie Tee: Pleased to meet you, how you doing?
Dr Ranj: How are you feeling about doing some of the medical stuff that I do for my day-to-day job?
Charlie Tee: I’m going to be honest, I’m a little bit nervous. I know nothing about being a doctor.
Dr Ranj: Any particular things you think you might be good at?
Charlie Tee: I talk for a living, so the talking bit hopefully… Dj’ing, doing radio, I use my hands quite a lot so I can multitask.
Dr Ranj: We’re going to see if we can transfer some of your DJ skills into this world. You’re going to be brilliant.
Charlie Tee: So, have you always known that you wanted to do this, that you wanted to be a doctor?
Dr Ranj: So, I was really, really young I think, when I made the decision to be a doctor.
Charlie Tee: How old were you?
Dr Ranj: Probably like eight?
Charlie Tee: That is quite young, isn’t it? That is quite young.
Dr Ranj: But I think it boils down to two things. Firstly, I have a fascination for science so I love trying to work out how things work and what makes them tick, to the point where when I was a kid I used to take my toys apart…
Charlie Tee: Right, OK.
Dr Ranj: … just to see what made them work.
Charlie Tee: That makes sense.
Dr Ranj: There’s also this part of me that really wanted to do something to help people.
Dr Ranj: So, we’re going to do something called inserting a cannula.
Charlie Tee: Got to find the vein.
Dr Ranj: Attach the syringe on the end.
Charlie Tee: Ohhh, sorry!
Dr. Ranj: Pull back on the syringe. There you go, you’ve just inserted your very first cannula.
Charlie Tee: Wow!
Dr Ranj: What I do want to show you is how we would give CPR to a baby this size. Do you want to have a go?
Charlie Tee: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dr Ranj: You’re going to have to go a bit faster than that.
Dr Ranj: I want to show you this skill that we do a lot of. That is a beauty!
Dr Ranj: OK, Charlie, you had a bit of a crash course… haha.
Charlie Tee: Yes.
Dr Ranj: Haha… so, how did you find working in a hospital?
Charlie Tee: It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.
Dr Ranj: Hahaha.
Charlie Tee: I thought it would be really difficult. You really impressed me with your ability to multitask…
Dr Ranj: Hahaha.
Charlie Tee: … and using your hands. I wonder if you’d be able to do the same when we get into my job role and we get to the BBC studios?
Dr Ranj: This looks like really good fun.
Charlie Tee: Welcome to Radio 1!
Dr Ranj: Oh my word! This looks amazing!
Charlie Tee: It’s good, isn’t it?
Dr Ranj: It’s incredible!
Charlie Tee: On a scale of one to 10, how excited/nervous are you feeling?
Dr Ranj: OK, my nerves are at about a ten and a half now.
Charlie Tee: OK, ten and half. We’ll get them down, we’ll get them down.
Charlie Tee: Let's have a little go!
Dr Ranj: Alright.
Dr Ranj: This is definitely not live, right?
Charlie Tee: No, it’s definitely not going out live. Ready? Yeah! Very good!
Dr Ranj: Look at that! Hahaha
Charlie Tee: And what you’re going to have to do is talk up until that little marker there.
Dr Ranj: Gosh! That’s a lot of pressure.
Charlie Tee: No, you’ve got it, you’ve got it! It’s harder than it looks, right?
Dr Ranj: It’s so much harder than it looks. Give me a cannula any day!
Dr Ranj: It’s Radio 1, you’re listening to Dr. Ranj. This is your Saturday night, and we’re kicking off with 'DJ Turn it Up' by Dimension.
Charlie Tee: Yay!
Dr Ranj: Yay!
Charlie Tee: Shall we have a little go at you interviewing me?
Dr Ranj: OK, let’s press the right button, here we go. It’s Dr. Ranj on Radio 1 and I have a very special guest with me today. It is none other than the fantastic Charlie Tee!
Charlie Tee: Hello! Is my mic up? Hello, there we are, thank you.
Dr Ranj: I’m turning you mic up now.
Charlie Tee: You might want to turn the music down a little bit.
Dr Ranj: I was pressing the wrong button.
Charlie Tee: Oh, lovely stuff.
Dr Ranj: How did you get into this, was this something you’d always wanted to do?
Charlie Tee: Actually, I didn’t get into radio until I was about 21/22, and I loved music, so passionate about music.
Dr Ranj: Yeah.
Charlie Tee: And one of my friends said to me: "you love music and you don’t stop talking, so, whatever job that is, you should do that!" I was like: "Radio? Radio would be great!" So I just started applying for jobs. I started at a community radio station…
Dr Ranj: OK.
Charlie Tee: … so, that is a great place for people to start if you want to do radio.
Charlie Tee: Well, you absolutely smashed that mate, out of the park! That is no mean feat to do that, to control a desk like that and talk.
Dr Ranj: That is so tricky.
Charlie Tee: I didn’t realise before today, how many transferable skills there would be across our two jobs.
Dr Ranj: Great thing about them is that they are both careers you can do at any time in your life.
Charlie Tee: Yeah!
Dr Ranj: You could be a healthcare professional if you wanted to be.
Charlie Tee: And you could be a radio presenter
Dr Ranj: Hahaha, I like the sound of that. I’ll go from DR Ranj to DJ Ranj!
Charlie Tee: That’s easy. Very good, very good!
We challenged NHS doctor, Dr Ranj and Radio 1 DJ, Charlie Tee to swap jobs for the day to see how they'd get on in roles outside of their comfort zones. Which transferable skills from their day jobs could save their bacon?
Dr Ranj: Motivations and skills
I have a fascination for science so I love trying to work out how things work and what makes them tick… There’s also this part of me that really wanted to do something to help people – Dr Ranj, NHS doctor
| Usual role | NHS doctor at a children's hospital |
| Job swap role | Radio DJ at Radio 1 |
| Transferable skills used | Multi-tasking, people skills, keeping calm under pressure, doing hands-on tasks |
Why are transferable skills important?
Many skills that you use on a day-to-day basis are transferable skills that employers love! You just need to describe them in the right way. Learning the lingo and applying these skills in a professional environment can help you get the job you want. Find out more with our transferable skills translator article.
Since taking part in our job swap, Dr Ranj has started presenting a radio show on BBC Asian Network.
Charlie Tee: Motivations and skills
One of my friends said to me: 'you love music and you don’t stop talking, so, whatever job that is, you should do that!' I was like: 'Radio? Radio would be great!' – Charlie Tee, Radio 1 DJ
| Usual role | Radio DJ and broadcaster at Radio 1 |
| Job swap role | NHS doctor |
| Biggest takeaway | "I didn't realise before today how much crossover there was between our two jobs. They just feel so far apart and they seem so different, I didn't realise how many transferable skills there would be across both of them." |
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