Dr Alex Yellowlees
Alex Yellowlees’ passion for Edinburgh - both the University and the city - is obvious.
Name | Dr Alex Yellowlees |
Degree Course | MBChB |
Year of Graduation | 1977 |

Your time at the University
I was brought up in the Scottish Borders and Edinburgh was a special place for me from many a childhood visit.
I loved the city from an early age. It is truly the ‘Athens of the North’ -beautiful and full of history. It is not too large a city or too small -just perfect to get around it.
The medical school was a reflection of that. So many famous doctors had trained there or had some association with the place. It was a time for the formation of precious medical memories in a prestigious setting with such high quality teaching.
Tell us about your Experiences since leaving the University
Following my ‘house job’ year I started training in the general practice scheme but my liaison psychiatry experience there persuaded me to move over to study psychiatry at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. I was influenced by some of the great consultant psychiatrists that I had met.
I loved the city from an early age. It is truly the ‘Athens of the North’ –beautiful and full of history.
I also spent some time working in Canada and then on my return to the UK I took up a consultant post in beautiful Perthshire. Twelve years ago I moved to work in the Priory Hospital in Glasgow as the Medical Director. It has changed the direction of my medical career and greatly enriched the medical journey I am still on.
Alumni wisdom
Discover which area of medicine suits you and pursue it, because medicine is a truly amazing vocation.